NTV does not think talks with new company management are off

Talks to resolve the situation surrounding Russia's NTV television "are not off, they have been halted," commented Alexei Kondulukov in a RIA Novosti interview on an abortive meeting on April 6 of the conciliatory commission set up from representatives of the channel's new management and journalists.

Kondulukov is a member of this commission from the journalists. He believes that to ascertain powers of each of the sides "legal procedures should be carried out". According to him, the court that suits television staff is the Supreme Court. NTV representatives left the negotiations hall on Friday only "when the situation got deadlocked", claims the journalist. But when the conciliatory commission resumes its work, he does not know. "Unfortunately," the journalist noted, "we did not raise this question". As seen by the company's new head, talks within that commission were foiled because former NTV managers "were never going to take part in the commission's work" and "effectively came with an ultimatum".