Russian Minister on Chechen affairs: There is no war in Chechnya

There is no war in Chechnya, Chechnya is fighting against international terrorism. Russian Minister on Chechen affairs Stanislav Ilyasov expressed this opinion on Wednesday.

At a "round table" in the Russian Cultural Centre in Paris Mr. Ilyasov met representatives of the French community and informed them about the current state of things in Chechnya.

According to him, the latest terrorist acts in Chechnya were committed by "international extremists and bandits", who are not satisfied with the normalisation process in the republic. "The situation in Chechnya is changing for the better, that is why terrorists are trying to spread nervousness and panic among people," Ilyasov pointed out.

"We know that the latest terrorist acts were ordered by Basayev and Maskhadov, but the main customers are, most likely, outside Chechnya," Ilyasov stressed.

"At the referendum Chechen people confirmed that they wanted to remain a part of Russia and had no intention to continue war," the Minister stressed. However, under the support of former leaders international terrorism has deeply rooted in Chechnya.

"Terrorist structures have deep roots, they receive substantial financial support from abroad. Our objective is to suppress their financing, which will allow us to eliminate the evil," the Minister stated.