January 21, 2005 - 22:25 AMT
WILL CHECHNYA BECOME INDEPENDENT DE FACTO?
The draft of the Treaty on Delimitation of Authorities between Chechnya and the federal center is fully complete and ready for signing, the Caucasian Knot reported. Simultaneously, Chairman of the State Council of Chechnya Taus Jabrailov stated that after the signing of the treaty Chechnya will get economic and political independence de facto. According to the data available, Chechnya can get a right to create a free economic zone, own National Bank, independent conclusion of economic contracts with foreign firms, using all natural resources, extraction, transportation and realization of oil products within 2005-2015. All taxes will enter the republic budget and the population will be exempt from electricity and gas payment for the coming ten years. Besides, the draft treaty emphasizes that force structures do not have a right to interfere the domestic affairs of Chechnya. In an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta member of the scientific council of the Carnegie Moscow Center - Igor Malashenko said in his opinion D. Dudayev could not dream of such a treaty.