Despite hitches and continuing attacks by both sides, a military pact slowly being implemented in Chechnya got a boost Sunday when a spokesman for Dzhokhar Dudayev said the rebel leader is committed to peace.
Spokesman Movladi Udugov said Dudayev and the commander of Chechen forces, Aslan Maskhadov, met for more than three hours Saturday night to discuss the July 30 agreement.They agreed on all "main questions for peacefully ending the war," the spokesman said.
Implementation of some parts of the military accord began this week. Chechen fighters began disarming and the first unit of Russian troops, the 503rd Regiment, pulled out of Chechnya on Saturday.
But each side has accused the other of foot-dragging.
There are skirmishes almost nightly in the southern republic, and Russian planes bombed the southwestern village of Roshni Chu overnight for the third time in recent days. Russian officials have said earlier attacks on the village were in response to shelling of Russian positions.
On Saturday, an 11-year-old boy was killed by Russian mortars and several people were injured near the town of Achkhoy-Martan just hours before Chechen fighters there turned over some weapons.
In a meeting with Chechen officials Sunday, the Russians were heckled when they claimed the child had stepped on a Chechen mine.
The Russian military, meanwhile, reported a dozen attacks overnight on its posts and said one serviceman was killed.
Both sides seem eager for an end to the war, which has killed thousands of people. The prospects for long-term peace, however, are unclear. Support for Dudayev is growing and many Chechens still harbor dreams of independence from Moscow.
Political talks on Chechnya's future status have stalled, and there was no word when they might start.