KULIKOV WARNS OF "CRIMINAL INVASION" OF DAGESTAN.

Russian deputy prime minister and interior minister Anatoly Kulikov thinks that the reason for the complex crime situation in Dagestan is the fact that it borders Chechnya. Addressing a conference on the fight against crime in the region, held yesterday in Makhachkala, Kulikov said that Dagestan is facing a "criminal invasion" from Chechnya. The minister accused Grozny of trying to expand its influence in Dagestan, in connection with which "there are demands for the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory, and Islamic fundamentalism is being preached." (RTR, October 9)

The deputy prime minister also expressed concern over the situation on the Dagestani sector of the Russian-Azerbaijani border. Kulikov claimed to have received information that fighters are being trained and plans are being developed for provocations on the border — under the guise of setting up guards for economic installations there. According to the interior minister, Azerbaijani president Haidar Aliev also expressed his concern over this in a meeting of CIS interior ministers in Baku. (Russian news agencies, October 9) Several days earlier, the head of the Makhachkala detachment of Russian border troops in the Caucasus, Sergei Bondarev, also warned of possible provocations on the border. (See the Monitor, October 6)

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