YELTSIN, CHERNOMYRDIN BACK CHECHEN AGREEMENT.

Despite pastdifferences between the two men on the conduct of the Chechenwar, both Russian president Boris Yeltsin and his prime ministerViktor Chernomyrdin have approved all points of the Grozny accordsand expect the accord to hold, Itar-Tass reported August 1. MostRussian officials and media outlets echoed their approval andexpectations. Yeltsin’s representative at the talks Mikhail Krasnovsaid that "the Chechen population will oppose Dudayev ifhe annuls the military agreement." Delegation deputy headArkady Volsky even produced two documents initialed by Dudayevthat seemed to suggest the Chechen president had in fact approvedthe deal, while Col. Gen. Mikhail Kulikov warned that the Russianforces would be brutal in suppressing any Chechen noncompliance.And presidential ethnic affairs advisor Emil Pain told Russianradio July 31 that the agreement was the best one that could beachieved. Meanwhile, Segodnya in its lead article August1 said that Moscow had made no real concessions on political questions.But some Russian politicians said they wanted to punish Chechnyafor its past actions: Federation Council budget committee chairmanNikolai Gonchar said that Moscow should spend money there onlyon projects which help the ethnic Russian population of the region.And still others, such as Duma Chechnya commission chairman StanislavGovorukhin said that the agreement would not solve anything andthat fighting, with the loss of more Russian lives, would certainlyresume.

Implementation of Grozny Accords Begins.