RUSSIA: PM PUTIN DISMISSES NEGOTIATED END TO CHECHEN WAR

Russian/Nat Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed any chance of a negotiated end to Russia’s war in Chechnya. Answering questions during a visit to a Russian space centre on Thursday, Putin accused Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov of being responsible for hostage taking and crime in the Caucasian republic. Putin called for his interrogation by Russian prosecutors. His comments were in response to statement made by Maskhadov when he contacted a Moscow radio station by phone and