THE REPORTED killing of Mr Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who replaced Gen Dzhokhar Dudayev as leader of the Chechen rebels only last week, is being regarded in Moscow as a final and virtually insurmountable obstacle to a negotiated peace settlement.
While some Chechen leaders and the FSB (the renamed KGB) have denied Mr Yandarbiyev's death, a hardening of attitudes has undoubtedly taken place.
ITAR TASS said Mr Yandarbiyev's death was announced by the secretary of the Chechen security council, Mr Ruslan Tsakayev.
The pro Russian Chechen interior minister, Mr Khamid Inalov, neither confirmed nor denied the report, but said there were reports Mr Yandarbiyev died in a gun battle overnight on Sunday near Urus Martan, south west of the Chechen capital, Interfax news agency added.
Mr Yandarbiyev (44), was appointed by the separatist government after Gen Dudayev was killed by Russian air to ground missiles on April 21st in southern Chechnya, rebels said.
Reports from Chechnya yesterday suggested that rebel commanders had elected Mr Shamil Basayev as "Chief of Staff" to replace the politically moderate but militarily ruthless rebel commander, Mr Aslan Maskhadov.
Mr Basayev, known as the "lone wolf", was responsible for the most spectacular act of the war since the destruction of the Chechen capital, Grozny, by Russian forces.
In June of last year he led loo armed rebels into the Russian city of Budyonnovsk, occupied a hospital and escaped with hundreds of hostages after scores had been killed.
The election of Mr Basayev to head the military command confirms that the Chechens are hardening their attitudes following the killings of Gen Dudayev and Mr Yandarbiyev. A Russian Duma deputy, Mr Konstantin Borovoy, who has been involved in peace talks with the Chechen leadership, told the Interfax news agency yesterday he considered further peace talks to be futile and that the situation in Chechnya was "about to go out of control".
With little over six weeks to go before the first round of elections for the Russian presidency on June 16th, an escalation in the violence in Chechnya could harm President Yeltsin's chances of being re elected.
Already, despite massive television coverage, a summit G-7 leaders in Moscow and a much publicised alliance forged last week on a visit to China, Mr Yeltsin's campaign appears to be running out of steam. In recent days he has received the support of unlikely bedfellows in the form of the reformist former minister, Mr Yegor Gaidar, the militant fascist politician, Mr Alexander Barkashov. But the latest opinion polls published at the weekend show his recent gains in popularity have fallen off.
Polls published by the Russian Centre for Public Opinion (VTsIOM) and by the Gallup organisation both showed Mr Yeltsin to have fallen six percentage points behind the Communist candidate, Mr Gennady Zyuganov. Mr Yeltsin's leading aide, Mr Viktor Ilyushin, said yesterday he was "dissatisfied" with the campaign, and Mr Yeltsin announced he was now prepared for dialogue with the leaders of the Communist party.
. Russia's economic reforms received an important boost yesterday when Western governments agreed to let Moscow repay more than £26.5 billion sterling in debt over a 25 year period.
The deal is the largest rescheduling agreement negotiated by the so called Paris Club of creditor governments in its 40 year history. It provides immediate relief by reducing the debt Russia owes this year from £5.3 billion to £1.32 billion.
