Yeltsin, Chechen Leader to Hold Talks
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GROZNY, Russia — Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan A. Yanderbiyev and Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin have agreed to hold peace talks in Moscow before Russia’s June 16 presidential election, a mediator said Thursday.
There was no confirmation from the rebels, but Tim Guldimann, mediator here for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, said Yanderbiyev agreed to attend. He added that OSCE personnel will accompany Yanderbiyev to Moscow and take part in talks scheduled to begin in “less than two weeks.”
Yeltsin, campaigning in the Arctic city of Arkhangelsk, also confirmed that he later will go to Chechnya.
Guldimann declined to say if there were any conditions for the talks. Yanderbiyev has said that he wants direct talks with Moscow but insists that Russia withdraw its troops first.
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