Yeltsin, Chechnya Leader Sign Treaty

In a move to normalize relations without resolving their fundamental dispute, President Boris N. Yeltsin of Russia and the leader of Chechnya signed a peace treaty Monday that both officials described as the end of a centuries-old conflict between Russia and the rebellious Caucasus region.

“We have signed a peace deal of historic dimensions, putting a full stop to 400 years of history,” Yeltsin said in the Kremlin as his Chechen counterpart, Aslan Maskhadov, listened solemnly at his side.

Yeltsin pledged “never to use force or threaten to use it in relations between the Russian federation and the Republic of Ichkeria.” It was the Russian president’s first use of the name the rebels defiantly gave their state to symbolize its independence.