Russia considers ending state of war in Chechnya

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Russia is considering ending the decade-long effective state of war in Chechnya, an official said yesterday, in a move that could see the withdrawal of thousands of troops from the once restive republic. The decree on the start of a "counter-terrorist operation" was passed in Chechnya under late president Boris Yeltsin in 1999, just months before he resigned and installed Vladimir Putin at the helm.

"Such an issue is being worked out but it's too early to talk about the time frame," a Kremlin official told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity. Another source in a security agency confirmed that Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee has already received a proposal to end the operation, adding the committee could discuss ending the operation at a meet on March 31. "The question is nothing new, it has been on the agenda for a long time and concerns mainly organizational issues, in particular, the continuous deployment of Interior Ministry units there [Chechnya] and other security structures," RIA/Novosti news agency quoted him as saying. The National Antiterrorism Committee declined to comment on the information.

Kadyrov’s announcement

The remarks came in response to a surprise announcement by Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Moscow-backed strongman leader, who said Wednesday that authorities would pass a decree lifting all restrictions on Chechnya.

"We have completely rooted out terrorism, although there is a certain circle of bandits that run around neighboring regions and make their appearance here. But they do not represent any threat for us," Kadyrov told reporters in comments released by his office. He estimated the number of insurgents active in Chechnya at between 50 and 100, a far cry from the two full-scale wars that Russia fought with separatists.

Kadyrov met last week with Putin, who is now Russian prime minister but still believed to be the most powerful man in the country. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed yesterday that Putin and Kadyrov discussed security issues, among other topics, but said the final decision rested with the country's defence and law enforcement officials who report to President Dmitry Medvedev.

Kadyrov said that Chechnya still did not have its own customs system and that this was preventing airlines from making international flights from its airport. Of the 50,000 troops currently stationed in Chechnya, 20,000 might withdraw if the authorities end the effective state of war in the republic, the Interfax news agency said yesterday, citing a Russian military source.

Analysts said that the withdrawal might play into the hands of Kadyrov, who is keen to cement his grip on the republic further. "Kadyrov does not need people looking on. He's building a quasi-state within Russia," said Sergei Markedonov, a Northern Caucasus expert at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis. The decade-old task of integrating Chechnya into the country has not been completed, he added.

As Russia enters its first recession in a decade, authorities are under pressure to deliver. The budget is stretched thin by costs to maintain troops in volatile places in the Northern Caucasus and the injections into Chechnya's war-ravaged economy, among other tasks.