Russia, Chechnya May Reach Deal

Talks on ending the seven-month war in Chechnya adjourned Sunday and both sides said a statement on a long-awaited political agreement could be signed Monday.

Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev, however, cast new doubt on the negotiations’ prospects during a clandestine television broadcast.

“These talks have not yielded anything positive so far, and they will hardly yield anything because they are in the hands of hair-splitters,” Dudayev said.

Usman Imayev, the top negotiator representing Dudayev’s separatist forces, has said for days that an agreement is just around the corner, but the talks keep hitting snags.

On Sunday, Imayev said, “A communique on a bloc of political questions will possibly be signed July 24.”

Imayev’s Russian counterpart, Vyacheslav Mikhailov, said talks Sunday were “productive” and would continue early Monday. He, too, said he hoped a statement could be signed today.