Acpc Welcomes Call For Negotiations

The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya released a statement on July 7 welcoming calls for peace talks by Aslan Maskhadov, president of Chechnya’s underground separatist government, and Ingush President Murat Zyazikov. ACPC Executive Director Glen Howard said that “it is encouraging to see that a member of the Russian political elite such as Zyazikov has come out in support of such negotiations.”

“The war in Chechnya is threatening to destabilize the entire North Caucasus, as the fighting in Ingushetia dramatically illustrated,” said Howard. “Zyazikov’s statements suggest a realization of the fact that regional peace and stability depend on Moscow’s willingness to negotiate with the Chechen resistance on ending the conflict.”