Prospects for Peace in Chechnya

"The Prospects for Peace in Chechnya"

Ilias Akhmadov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chechnya
February 4, 2002

Co-sponsored by the Forum for Central Asian Studies/ Davis Center Russian Studies and
The Caspian Studies Program, Kennedy School of Government

Summary by Simone Ispa-Landa

Observers of the situation in Chechnya know that the "prospects for peace" that Akhmadov''s title refers to are virtually nil, as Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chechen rebel leaders continue to lock horns on how to end the hostilities that broke out in war over two years ago. Akhmadov devoted considerable time in his discussion to the problems confronting Chechnya since the development of a Bush-Putin alliance to combat "Islamic fundamentalism." He also challenged Putin''s insistence that the conflicts in Chechnya are domestic and therefore not subject to international monitoring or mediation.

Akhmadov opened his talk with the assertion that the destruction he had discussed at the Davis Center in January 2000 had grown more serious, with levels of physical devastation and civilian casualties on the rise and the world community more supportive than ever of armed Russian intervention. To illustrate his point that the Russian Federation is unfairly using the international war on terror to justify actions in Chechnya, Akhmadov said that two days after FBI agents found diskettes containing flying instructions which had belonged to the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the US, Russian FSB agents reported finding similar diskettes belonging to Chechen terrorists in the woods near a pilot-training school.

Akhmadov considered the presence of such a school in those woods unlikely. He added that a high casualty rate among Chechen civilians is now officially connected to the search for members of Al Qaeda.

Akhmadov reminded the audience of a speech made by Putin on September 24, 2001, in which the Russian president expressed support for the United States'' war on terror and urged Chechen rebels to disarm and abandon their separatist fight.

Akhmadov''s response to that speech was that disarmament could not be a condition for starting peace talks. As for the November meeting between Viktor Kazantsev, Putin''s envoy to Chechnya, and Akhmed Zakayev, a prominent representative of Chechnya''s rebels, Akhmadov said it "left no room for illusions about their relations, or about the Russian government''s position on Chechnya." The talk ended when Zakayev refused to comply with Kazanstev''s request that the rebels disarm.

Akhmadov addressed allegations of ties between the rebels and Osama bin Laden in the question-and-answer session, restricting himself during his talk to criticism of what he considers unwarranted BBC and CNN reports about the "thousands of Chechens fighting in Afghanistan." While Akhmadov allowed for the possibility that a few Chechens could be fighting for the Taliban, he stressed the unlikelihood that Chechens played a critical role in Taliban efforts and reported that nobody yet had been able to provide any "concrete facts to verify that Chechens are fighting for the Taliban."

Putin''s affirmations that Chechnya belongs to Russia apparently strike Akhmadov as oxymoronic, as indicated by his remark that "the Russian Federation wants to integrate the territory of Chechnya but not the people." To convey the extent of destruction wrought by the Chechen-Russian conflicts, Akhmadov cited data culled by Russians showing that before the first war in 1994, there were 1 million Chechens; 100,000 people were killed between 1994-6; that casualty figure has been greatly exceeded during the fighting that started in 1999. In addition, 400,000 Chechens have emigrated or become displaced persons. Akhmadov pointedly remarked that "we don''t count as refugees, because that only happens during a war... What is happening in Chechnya is, according to Russia, ''a small, minor anti-terrorist operation.''"

Finally, Akhmadov stated that impartial monitoring groups were needed to observe the conflict. He also asserted that a one-on-one dialogue with Russians was not a realistic solution and that intermediaries were needed to promote discussion between Russian and Chechen leaders.

Following his prepared talk, Akhmadov replied to questions from the audience about issues including Chechen rebel fighting in Abkhazia, hostage-taking, and Russian bombing of civilian and industrial areas. In response to a question about Maskhadov''s ability to rebuild the war-torn region, Akhmadov said that "neither Maskhadov nor any other Chechen can do anything with Chechnya''s meager resources." He also said that the international community should aid Chechnya in future attempts to rebuild the war-torn republic and that visiting Ground Zero in New York had given him the "feeling that I had seen that [kind of devastation] somewhere before, only on a larger scale." Finally, Akhmadov answered an audience member''s question about Russian and Chechen military strategy by saying that it was hard forhim to believe that "someone is sitting at a map plotting points... We''re [Russians and Chechens] just killing each other... Russians see us, they kill us, and vice versa. It''s a snowball effect."

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