Mikhail Gorbachev: Russia must give Chechnya autonomy

'We must give Chechnya autonomous status - it is the only way to resolve the conflict,' said Mikhail Gorbachev today in a press conference in Moscow. Gorbachev, who was the first president of the USSR and is now the president of the Gorbachev Fund, said that Chechnya in fact never lived completely by the laws of Russia. Therefore, 'giving them autonomy will be the right decision.' Moreover, he said that he supports Vladimir Putin's position in relationship to Chechnya and considers that 'all nascent questions must be decided through political means.'