The leader of Chechnya’s separatist movement, Aslan Maskhadov, was repudiated and isolated on Tuesday after a senior US official called him ‘‘damaged goods’’ with links to terrorism in the wake of last week’s seizure of a Moscow theatre by bomb-toting Chechens. America’s tough rejection of the former Chechen President, whom Washington had previously viewed as a potential negotiating partner with the Russians, leaves the US position on the separatist republic broadly in line with that of Moscow. While the US still expresses concerns about abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya, the US official — who spoke on condition of anonymity — stressed strong condemnation of Maskhadov and the hostage-takers at the theatre. He said the Chechen leader should be excluded from any peace talks. Maskhadov, through a spokesman, has denied involvement in the attack that left around 50 of the attackers and more than 100 of the hostages dead. Underscoring the harm the Chechen attackers did to their cause internationally, the official said Maskhadov had failed to disassociate himself from terrorism. Withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya was the key demand of the hostage-takers. Chechens won a degree of autonomy for their republic in the Caucasus region after defeating Russian troops in 1994-1996. Adding to a sense of crisis in Moscow, a rebel missile brought down a Russian military helicopter in Chechnya on Tuesday, killing four soldiers, authorities said. Defence and security officials met with President Vladimir Putin, then pledged even tougher measures against Chechen separatists. Washington has long labelled the Chechen conflict as an internal Russian problem and criticised Russian methods there, but Tuesday’s comments confirm a marked shift in policy. (LATWP)
