Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev, are alleged to have ordered combat operations suspended to February 22 as a goodwill act. The information comes from Chechen separatist web sites-Kavkaz-Center and Chechenpress.
"Maskhadov has often made such attempts. In fact, he no longer has the say-so in Chechnya, so we don't pay too much attention to his move. To all appearances, he just doesn't want to go into oblivion," said Mr. Kozak. He was addressing newsmen during a break in a business development conference in district South, underway in Volgograd.
The North Caucasian regional anti-terror HQ previously denied the authenticity of Maskhadov's and Basayev's statements. "Whatever references to the bandit underground chieftains are false, and the statements fruit of Movladi Udugov's imagination," the HQ says in a press release.
