SEPARATIST PREMIER MEETS WITH PACE SECRETARY.

On June 5 in Strasbourg, the deputy premier of the separatist government of the Chechen Republic-Ichkeria, Akhmed Zakaev, met with the general secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Bruno Haller. Zakaev discussed in detail current military-political developments in the republic and provided his interlocutor with “documentary information concerning punitive operations carried out by Russian soldiers in relation to Chechen citizens.” The two also talked about ways to help bring an end to the war and discussed “the situation of Chechen IDPs in the Republic of Ingushetia.” In his comments, Haller stressed “the inadmissibility of coercive actions with regard to Chechen refugees.” The two officials agreed to keep up regular contacts in the future (Chechenpress.com, June 5).