OSCE Chairman-in-Office issues declaration on Chechnya

VIENNA, 1 April 1996 - The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Swiss Federal Councillor (Foreign Minister) Flavio Cotti, on behalf of the OSCE Troika, the Foreign Ministers of Hungary, Switzerland and Denmark, issued the following declaration today:

On 31 March, President Yeltsin officially presented his initiative for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Chechnya, and at the same time declared his readiness to engage in negotiations with the Dudayev side through a go-between.

The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti, speaking on behalf of the Troika, welcomes this initiative and hopes it will prove a decisive step in the direction of a peaceful settlement of the conflict and a turning point away from the recent escalation of combat.

The Chairman-in-Office, deeply concerned, and yet encouraged by President Yeltsin's initiative, reiterates that the OSCE, in accordance with its mandate, is ready to actively support the peace process in Chechnya, and expresses his hope that the OSCE, through its Assistance Group to Chechnya, will be able to make a constructive contribution to the peaceful resolution of this conflict.

Meanwhile, the Troika calls on all sides to respect international humanitarian law and to restore respect for human rights as a prerequisite for progress towards a political settlement of the conflict.