The Hindu : Chechnya returns to Russian fold

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003

International

International

Chechnya returns to Russian fold

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW MARCH 24. Russia has claimed a major breakthrough in its efforts to achieve a political settlement in war-torn Chechnya, following the approval of a new Constitution for the rebel republic in a referendum on Sunday.

Almost 80 per cent of Chechens cast their votes in the referendum and over 95 per cent of them backed the Constitution, which declares Chechnya an integral part of Russia. The referendum has ended years of uncertainty regarding Chechnya's status.

The previous Constitution approved in 1992 proclaimed Chechnya's independence from Russia, while a peace pact the Chechen separatists signed with Russia in 1996 after two years of war left the issue of the region's status in limbo. Russian troops returned to Chechnya in 1999 after Chechen rebels attacked the neighbouring Dagestan and were accused of staging a series of bombings in Russian cities.

"We have closed today the last serious problem regarding Russia's territorial integrity," the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said commenting on the results of the referendum.

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