EU delegation visits Chechnya
A delegation of ambassadors from European Union nations visited Chechnya today on a fact-finding mission focusing on the situation of refugees and security in the war-battered region.
The delegation, led by Swedish Ambassador Sven Hirdman, met with Ruslan Aushev, the president of Ingushetia. The region borders on Chechnya and has absorbed tens of thousands of Chechen refugees.
At the height of the war in the winter of 1999-2000, more than 300,000 Chechens crowded into Ingushetia. Now that number has fallen to about 150,000 Aushev said.
He said that four-fifths of the refugees were boarding with Ingush families.
The EU delegation was scheduled to meet later today with Akhmad Kadyrov, the pro-Russian civilian administrator of Chechnya, Grozny Mayor Bislan Gantamirov and Viktor Kazantsev, the general turned governor who is responsible for Russia’s North Caucasus region, said EU press officer Sylvie Kofler. It will also tour Chechen hospitals and return to Moscow tomorrow, she said.
The visit follows a February meeting between EU officials and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who invited them to visit Chechnya and judge the situation for themselves.
The EU and other western organisations and governments have severely criticised Russian forces for human rights abuses, but Russian officials have tried to shift the international focus to humanitarian needs and shaky security in the region.
