Official website of the President of Russia

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President Vladimir Putin on the election in Belarus:

I wouldn’t like to make any predictions before the election. We certainly cannot be indifferent to what is going on in Belarus, especially because our Union State is in the making. But the final choice is up to the Belarusian nation. So I don’t want to make any comments that might be found ambiguous. However, I cannot but say that Alexander Lukashenko, the Acting Belarusian President, advanced the idea of the Union State together with Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first President. I am sure Mr Lukashenko is sincere about it, and we highly value his sincerity.

President Vladimir Putin on the initiative proposed by Boris Nemtsov, a member of the State Duma, to hold negotiations with Aslan Maskhadov, the leader of Chechen militants:

Vladimir Putin: As for Mr Nemtsov’s idea of talks with Mr Maskhadov, I always prefer negotiations to violent action. We are willing to get in contact with anyone on the condition of compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and its validity in all Russia’s constituent entities, Chechnya being no exception.

There is another essential proviso: all insurgent formations must be urgently and unconditionally disarmed, and all notorious rebels whose hands are smeared in Russian blood must be extradited to federal authorities. If any State Duma member, including Mr Nemtsov, is able to guarantee compliance with those provisos in the foreseeable future, let us say within a month, let them do so. If they can’t, they must stop their hustle-and-bustle on the political arena and cede their parliamentary competences. We can wait for a month or two, even three months, but it will be pointless to wait any longer because procrastination will make such activities absurd.