KADYROV VISIT TO UNITED STATES POSTPONED.

It was announced on May 30 that a working visit to Washington DC by the pro-Moscow Chechen head of administration, Akhmad Kadyrov, has been postponed until the second half of June, following the summit meeting of Presidents Bush and Putin in Slovenia on June 16. When he comes to Washington, Kadyrov is scheduled to have consultations in the State Department, where he will “attempt to explain to representatives of the American administration the true situation in the Chechen Republic.” He will also meet with representatives of the Chechen diaspora and with American business circles (Presscenter.ru, May 30).

On May 24, a close associate of Akhmad Kadyrov’s, Khamzat Idrisov, was arrested by a Russian anti-organized crime squad and charged with embezzling state funds during the Dudaev period. It was possible that he might also be charged with kidnapping activities. According to the online daily Gazeta.ru, “Kadyrov was visibly furious about the arrest of his ally. Kadyrov said the real reason for Idrisov’s arrest was that he was ‘inconvenient’ for certain people in Chechen Prime Minister Ilyasov’s government, whom he said he knew but did not name…. Idrisov’s arrest represents a further blow to Kadyrov’s authority” (Gazeta.ru, Lenta.ru, May 30).