11 May 2004 22:54
Arab News Editorial, Saudi Arabia, May 10
"[The assasination] blows a gaping hole in Russia's Chechnya policy. At a stroke not only is Moscow without
its puppet, Chechnya is patently not a war won, an issue solved - although that was the impression Mr Putin had managed
to give the rest of the world . . .
"The separatists may have been reduced to small separate groups, but they can clearly strike out and kill at
will . . . For Mr Putin, it is a personal disaster. He has staked his reputation on crushing the Chechens . . . What
does he do now? He chose Mr Kadyrov. Without him, the all-important pretence that Chechnya is both self-administered and
loyal to Moscow is in tatters.
"Mr Putin needs to make sure that someone loyal to Moscow takes over. But there is no obvious Chechen
replacement waiting in the wings . . . The only alternative would be to impose direct rule from Moscow, but that would
be even more destructive and would fuel the fires of Chechen resentment."
[The Guardian] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
