"No one can guarantee that this will not happen," he said, "however, adequate measures will be taken immediately."
He commented on the results of a special operation conducted in Grozny on the night of August 22: "The bandits have been scattered, part of them have been eliminated and I am sure that anyone who will get caught will be eliminated." He said that currently, no one could say that the situation in the republic has been destabilized in any way.
Presidential elections will be held in Chechnya next Sunday because former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov died in a terrorist attack in Grozny on May 9.
At a press conference in Moscow, Abdul-Khakim Sultygov, an aide to the Russian foreign minister on relations with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said that Chechnya was 100% prepared for the presidential elections.
In response to a question about international observers' interest in the elections, Mr. Sultygov said that interest in the Chechnya was because the main modern threats and challenges -extremism, separatism and international terrorism - intersect in Chechnya. He noted that Russia had unique experience in settling such conflicts.
According to him, about 20 international representatives, including representatives from the OIC, the Arab League, the CIS Executive Committee, as well as a number of international organizations (PACE, OSCE) would observe the elections.
The forthcoming elections will be covered by over a hundred foreign journalists representing over 60 electronic and print media outlets from 23 countries.
