RUSSIAN troops, abandoning hopes of saving hostages, pounded Chechen rebels in the Dagestani village of Pervomaiskoye yesterday, while Turkey appeared to be moving towards a bloodless end to the Chechen hostage taking on a Black Sea ferry.
Turkish officials negotiated through the day with the proChechen guerrillas who seized the Avrasya in the Turkish Black Sea port of Trabzon on Tuesday with 200 hostages, most of them Russians.
The ship moved slowly along the Turkish coast towards Istanbul where the rebels had threatened they would blow it up with all aboard if Russia did not cease its attack on their comrades in arms holed up in Pervomaiskoye.
By evening, reports suggested Turkish officials were making progress, though the guerrillas had swung wildly between threats to kill the hostages and offers of a peaceful settlement.
The head of Turkey's national intelligence service, Mr Sonmez Koksal, was quoted by the Anatolian news agency as telling the gunmen they could proceed safely to Istanbul. He had secured a guarantee from them that they would end the mission if security forces attempted no rescue operation.
"There will be no intervention," the agency quoted Mr Koksal as telling the gunmen's leader, Mr Muhammed Tokcan.
"You are coming to Istanbul, your ship can make the trip. I will be there. Hold a press conference. If you like we can ensure it is broadcast live. But do you promise to abandon the action in Istanbul?"
The guerrilla leader replied: "I trust you. I accept."
The Avrasya was expected to reach Istanbul this evening or tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, the Russian Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, sent a telegram to his Turkish opposite number, Ms Tansu Ciller, declaring that Russia was prepared to take part in the use of force beyond its frontiers.
"(We are) ready to take necessary measures for the participation of appropriate Russian bodies in freeing the hostages," he said in the telegram.
A Russian naval official said the Black Sea Fleet had been on high alert since the seizing of the Avrasya on Tuesday.