Chechen Rebels Plan Election

The State Duma lower house of parliament met behind closed doors to work out its attitude towards the latest peace deal struck between Russian security chief Alexander Lebed and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov on August 31.

The deal, which ended 21 month of bitter fighting, provided for a withdrawal of troops sent to Chechnya in December 1994 to quell its independence bid, and postponed a decision on the regions future political status for five years.

Rebel leaders said they saw the deal as a victory over Russia, saying it gave Moscow time to find a face-saving way of letting Chechnya go.

But Lebeds bitter opponent, interior minister Anatoly Kulikov, told reporters before the Duma hearings started that granting independence to Chechnya was out of question.

Other participants in the hearings said the chamber was not likely to issue any strong statements on the issue.

Lebed and Kulikov, who both addressed the Duma, left without talking to reporters. Lebed and Russia have both been forced into such a deal, said human rights activist Sergei Kovalyov.