RUSSIAN LEADERSHIP NOW SEEMINGLY UNITED IN REBUFFING WESTERN CRITICISM OF CHECHNYA.

The diplomatic cacophony over Chechnya intensified this past weekend as continued Western criticism of Russia’s military campaign in the North Caucasus elicited fresh rebuffs from a still-defiant Moscow. The ongoing war of words was carried out on a number of different fronts: from a telephone conversation between the Russian prime minister and the UN secretary general to a northern European cooperation conference in Helsinki to bare-knuckle backroom skirmishing at the UN in New York.

The dominant theme of Western criticism throughout these exchanges was what it has been for several weeks now: that Moscow is using “disproportionate force” in Chechnya and, in order to spare the civilian population, should turn from warfare to negotiations. Moscow, in turn, continued to characterize Western descriptions of a mounting humanitarian catastrophe in the northern Caucasus as part of a vast disinformation campaign with no basis in reality. Russian leaders also continued to describe the Chechen crisis as a domestic Russian affair, one requiring no help or mediation from the outside world. The political, military and diplomatic leadership, moreover, appeared once more to be acting in unison. That followed a brief period late last week when some mixed signals emanated from the Russian capital (see the Monitor, November 12). The return to a single voice on Chechnya–together with intensified military operations and some apparent successes on the battlefield–appeared to be aimed at solidifying Russia’s diplomatic position on the eve of this week’s Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit in Istanbul.

In Moscow, meanwhile, there was some question over the manner in which Russia would be represented in Istanbul. Clinton administration officials appeared to indicate over the weekend that Washington has received notification that Russian President Boris Yeltsin will indeed take part in the summit. Russian reports on November 12 likewise said that Yeltsin would head the Russian delegation for the November 18-19 event. Other reports out of Moscow, issued on the same day, suggested that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is also preparing to go to Istanbul (though one report said that he might stay in Moscow during Yeltsin’s absence). Assuming that he does travel to Istanbul, however, it is unclear precisely what Putin’s status will be on the Russian delegation. Some sources suggested that he might go as an assistant of some sort to the president (Russian agencies, November 12).

MOSCOW UNWILLING TO COOPERATE WITH WORLD TO END CHECHNYA CONFLICT.