Yeltsin praises Tatarstan as talks with Grozny begin<\/p>\n
KAZAN, Russia (Reuter): Russian President Boris Yeltsin began
\nthe last week of his election campaign yesterday with a visit to
\nindependence-minded Tatarstan, holding it up to Chechnya as an
\nexample of harmony with Moscow.<\/p>\n
\"You took as much autonomy as was needed for Tatarstan's
\nprosperity and Russia's integrity,\" Yeltsin told local leaders in
\nthe regional capital Kazan, 800 kilometers east of Moscow. Kazan
\nwas conquered by Russia's Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th
\ncentury.<\/p>\n
Yeltsin, 65, was referring to a power-sharing treaty
\nnegotiated in 1994 in which Tatarstan compromised over its
\ndemands for independence from Moscow. But he had one eye on
\nChechnya, where an 18-month war has hurt his chances of winning
\nre-election next Sunday.<\/p>\n
Russian officials and Chechen rebels met in the neighboring
\nrepublic of Ingushetia yesterday to try to bolster a fragile
\ntruce. But big obstacles remained to a quick deal to end conflict
\nwhich has killed more than 30,000 people.<\/p>\n
Chechen rebel spokesman Movladi Udugov dismissed Yeltsin's
\nefforts to reach a peace agreement as electioneering.<\/p>\n
\"This is just a pre-election stunt. The only thing we feel
\nfrom their side is an attempt to make it look as though there are
\ntalks going on everywhere so they can have their elections,\" he
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
Yeltsin, on the final stage of his election battle against
\ncommunist leader Gennady Zyuganov, regards Tatarstan's
\nrelationship with Moscow as a model for Chechnya to follow.<\/p>\n
Like Chechnya, Tatarstan sought a form of independence. But
\nits President Mintimer Shaimiyev finally agreed to accept its
\nstatus as part of Russia in a deal which gave it more autonomy
\nthan any other region.<\/p>\n
Yeltsin was accused of contributing to the break-up of the
\nSoviet Union by saying in 1990 that ethnic regions should take as
\nmuch autonomy as they needed.<\/p>\n
But Yeltsin, who leads opinion polls and is confident of
\nvictory despite their poor track record in Russia, is expected to
\nreap some reward by getting many votes from Tatarstan next week.<\/p>\n
\"It was here that the word autonomy was understood correctly
\nand I can tell you frankly this was successful,\" Yeltsin told
\nabout 1,000 local officials.<\/p>\n
Outside, he was received warmly by about 2,000 people gathered
\nin the rain. He looked fit and healthy as he talked to the crowd
\nand visited a site where a cathedral and a mosque are being built
\nside by side.<\/p>\n
\"This mosque and this cathedral will forever be a symbol of
\nthe equal co-existence of Orthodox Christianity and Islam on the
\nland of Tatarstan and in all Russia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Yeltsin was due to head for Novosibirsk in Siberia later
\nyesterday and will then go to the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
\nZyuganov had no major meetings scheduled for yesterday.<\/p>\n
Yeltsin's attempt to limit the political damage of the
\nconflict in Chechnya hit another snag on Saturday, when masked
\ngunmen killed a senior Chechen official in the latest cease-fire
\nviolation.<\/p>\n
Chechnya's pro-Moscow government accused an international
\nmediatory mission, and particularly its chief representative Tim
\nGuldimann, of exceeding its authority in Chechnya.<\/p>\n
The criticism raised questions about Guldimann's future
\nheading the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
\n(OSCE) mission based in the Chechen capital Grozny.<\/p>\n
\"We welcome the OSCE as a peacekeeping organization but its
\nrepresentative Guldimann has taken an obviously one-sided stand
\nregarding Chechen developments,\" Interfax news agency quoted
\nMoscow-backed Chechen Prime Minister Nikolai Koshman as saying.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/yeltsin-praises-tatarstan-as-talks-with-grozny-begin-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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