After Chechen Commander Shamil Basayev stated that the murder of President Maskhadov was organized with the use of the idea of possible negotiations with Russia, which the Chechen President was pressing towards, many journalists and human rights organizations have expressed their own versions about the technology of that political assassination used by Moscow.
And even though with the help of controlled media and domesticated commentators Moscow is still trying to obscure the issue around the death of President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), independent observers still have enough of forcible arguments to be claiming that the murder of President Maskhadov was organized with the assistance of top political leaders of a number of European States.
Today there is no doubt that the Chechen President was killed while imitation was made that Moscow was allegedly ready for negotiations with President Maskhadov.
Chechen human rights association called Council of Non-Governmental Organizations has pointed out in this connection that the confirmation of this particular version was contained in one of the last interviews given by President Maskhadov not too long before his death. A number of non-governmental and human rights organizations of Chechnya have the videotape containing Aslan Maskhadov’s interview in Chechen language.
In that interview President of CRI talks about forthcoming peace talks with Russia. At the same time he names the countries that would act as intermediaries in the upcoming political dialogue between him and the Russian side. According to President Maskhadov, foreign ministries of Germany and Switzerland agreed to act as intermediaries. Representatives of PACE were supposed to participate in the negotiations as well. These European proposals were forwarded to Aslan Maskhadov through his General Envoy Umar Khanbiyev.
There is also a noticeable fact that confidential “negotiations activities” were initiated by the Western politicians and Moscow after Putin made his famous statement in Germany, when during his talks with Schroeder he all of a sudden offered the European structures to participate in political settlement of the Russian-Chechen relations, which many observers did not even expect.
Thus, apparently, the imitation of negotiations process, which was actually a purposeful operation of Russian secret services against President Maskhadov, was carried out by Moscow with direct involvement of Germany, Switzerland and PACE, and these parties played a key role in masterminding the assassination of President Maskhadov by lulling his vigilance.
At the same time it is not clear how Russia is going to pay its accomplices, who were involved in the murder of President Maskhadov, -- Germany, Switzerland and PACE. Most likely, as it used to be the case in the past during all sorts of backstage deals, Moscow could make some more political concessions to Europe.
Vakha Hasanov,
Kavkaz Center
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