Putin's envoy admits Moscow to blame for Chechen war
RIA-Novosti
Groznyy, 9 April: The Russian president's envoy to the Southern Federal District Grigoriy Rapota believes that the conflict in Chechnya was caused not only by the Wahhabis but also by the inefficiency to the then Russian government.
"The roots of the war in Chechnya lie not only in the Wahhabis' activities but also in the inefficiency of the Russian government. This war came from Moscow not because somebody brought it there but because certain conditions were created which provoked the conflict," the envoy told journalists in Groznyy today.
He believes that it was the incumbent Russian authorities' stance that helped to normalize the situation in the Chechen Republic.
"Fortunately, the present Russian government is seeing the situation differently and this fundamental change has brought about the current processes in Chechnya," Rapota said.
"I feel personal about the Chechen war. I did not take part in the conflict but I saw with my own eyes how decisions were being made in Moscow," he added.
He said that Chechen people had undergone horrific sufferings.
"It was not the people who unleashed a war, it was done by individuals but it was people who suffered. And Chechnya provides a clear example of this. The sooner we heal these wounds, the easier it will be for us," he concluded.