In 1999, at a meeting in Oslo, 42nd US President Bill Clinton and then Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin discussed the war in Chechnya. The details of their negotiations became known from a declassified transcript published on the Clinton digital library website. The documents became available in 2019, but the journalists paid attention to them only now.
During the conversation, the American leader expressed concern about the situation in Chechnya, in particular the situation of the civilian population, which, according to him, was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. Clinton also noted that he is trying to support the measures taken by Moscow to combat terrorists and avoids critical public statements in this regard, but stressed that the Russian authorities should offer other ways to resolve the conflict.
“You need a parallel political strategy that kind of says, 'This is what we are going to do in addition to military action' … Without a political strategy, you will lose on all fronts – people will die, and you will never be able to finish with it. conflict, “- said the US President. After that, he also repeatedly called on Moscow to find at least some partner for negotiations in Chechnya.
In response, Putin noted that meeting such requirements would not be easy. “I agree that we need to find a partner, but I don’t know how we will do it … The Russian people will not accept negotiations with terrorists,” he explained.
The Russian politician admitted that the authorities made a number of mistakes during the hostilities. “Our pilots hit our own people on our territory,” Putin said. At the same time, he assured American colleagues that Russian troops would not resort to massive bombing of areas where militants might be hiding.
At the same time, Putin stressed that Moscow is not going to sit back and wait for it to have the opportunity to destroy the terrorists.
In December 1994, the first Chechen campaign began in Chechnya, the purpose of which was to regain Moscow's control over the territory of the republic. The war ended in August 1996 with the signing of the Khasavyurt agreements, Russian troops were completely withdrawn from Chechnya, and the decision on the status of the region was postponed until December 31, 2001.
However, the signing of the agreements did not lead to the expected changes; a deep criminalization of life began in the region. In 1999, the second Chechen campaign began, the active combat phase of which lasted until the spring of 2000.
