YELTSIN REITERATES PLAN TO VISIT CHECHNYA, LEAVES DATE VAGUE…

In electoral campaign appearances May 10 and 11 on the lower Volga, President Boris Yeltsin reiterated his intention to visit Chechnya sometime before the June 16 presidential election in order to start negotiations. Declining for security reasons to name a date for the planned visit, Yeltsin pointed out that his own security service opposes the plan. He reaffirmed that the talks must be tripartite, involving the Russian government, the Moscow-installed authorities in Grozny, and the opposition — a nonstarter with the latter, which is calling for bilateral peace talks with Moscow. (Russian and Western agencies, May 11-13)

…While His Troops Continue Operations on the Ground.