PUTIN ABOUT MASKHADOV’S APPEAL
NTV (Independent Television), “Segodnya” program, November 8, 1999, 12:00
Russian Premier Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov’s appeal to the UN and US President Clinton should not be taken seriously and that it was highly unlikely to generate any response. As long as Maskhadov continues to support terrorists, nobody will talk to him, Putin said.
AN INTERVIEW WITH VLADIMIR SHAMANOV
Russian Television (RTR), “Zerkalo” program, November 7, 1999, 20:00
Question: There are two major opinions concerning the state of affairs in Chechnya and the battle against the terrorists. Number one: Everything is all right and is much better than in the first Chechen campaign.
Number two: Yes, everything is all right but the real war has not began yet…
Answer: As I see it, the first one is more applicable. What the federal troops are doing now is what has been planned. To conduct the operation with minimal losses.
Question: Within the limit of what you can say, what should we expect next…
Answer: I can only say that the plans envisage different options. As far as I know, there are at least five or seven of them outlined for the next month or two. Everything will depend on the situation on the ground.
Question: The Defense Minister has used the phrase: “To squeeze out militants from Grozny”. What do you think he meant?
Answer: I may be mistaken, but I think that he meant that we cannot carry out air-raid against civilians noncombatants, elders, women and children. Precisely because they are noncombatants.
Question: There is an opinion that it is impossible to defeat guerilla fighters. When a guerilla warfare begins a regular army is useless…
Answer: This is true. Nobody has ever defeated guerilla fighters. When guerilla fighters have the support of the population, they are invincible.
