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Former Russian PM restarts negotiations with Chechen rebels

A four-member mediation team led by former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov resumed talks on Friday night with the Chechen rebels holding close to 800 people hostage in Moscow's Palace of Culture.

Primakov, who spent 30 minutes talking to the captors inside the theatre, refused to say anything on the progress made, Interfax reported.

He was accompanied by the former president of the southern Russian Republic of Ingushetia, Ruslan Aushev, who is widely seen as being close to Chechen separatists.

Primakov is a former head of Russia's intelligence service Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti. He is considered a skilled negotiator and recently authored a peace plan for Chechnya.

Journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who is considered to be sympathetic to the Chechen cause, Duma deputy Aslambek Aslakhanov and two Red Cross officials, earlier, had a three-hour meeting with the rebels, a spokesman for the Kremlin's chief adviser on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said.

Meanwhile, the United States offered to send anti-terrorist experts to help rescue the hostages, the Russian interior ministry announced.

Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller called Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov, condemning the hostage-taking and offering US assistance, Interfax quoted the ministry as saying.

Earlier, the rebels had threatened to start killing the hostages from Saturday if their demand for Russia's military withdrawal from Chechnya was not met.

The threat came even as the head of the Federal Security Service, Nikolai Patrushev, said the rebels would be allowed safe passage if they freed the hostages.

The rebels, during the day, have set free 15 people, including 8 children, till now.

Agencies

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