Russia's Acting President, Vladimir Putin, has said he's ready to talk to Chechen guerrillas if they stop skirmishing with Russian forces in the south of the republic. Speaking in the rebel republic's capital, Grozny, Mr Putin said Moscow was giving the rebel fighters a choice.
This is the first time Mr Putin – who is the frontrunner in Russia's presidential election on Sunday - has made such an offer. Putin was dramatically whisked into Grozny this afternoon in a supersonic Sukhoi-27 warplane to consult with military chiefs on how to deal with rebel separatist's still resisting Russian forces, and on how to start re-building the war-torn republic.
Russia has largely subdued Chechnya, although skirmishes are still taking place in the south. It's estimated that 1,500 Chechen rebels in the republic's southern highlands are still resisting Russian forces in the area.
