By
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - In a clear message to Moscow in one of its first foreign policy pronouncements, the Bush administration is urging negotiations with rebels in Chechnya as the only way to end the 16-month conflict.
The message was coupled Wednesday with open skepticism that President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a reduction of Russian troops in Chechnya had any real meaning.
''We've seen announcements of troop withdrawals from Chechnya before, but frankly, Russia's presence in Chechnya remains massive,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. ''The fighting has continued, and there are continuing credible reports of humanitarian abuses against the civilian population by Russian troops.''
Russia considers the conflict in rebellious Chechnya a domestic matter. The Kremlin also is likely to be irritated by the Bush administration's plan to go ahead with a national missile defense despite a ban contained in a 1972 treaty.
Talks on a political settlement in Chechnya are the only way to bring peace and stability to the region, Boucher said. He also urged Russia to take steps to deal with social and economic problems in Chechnya.
Russian troops moved into Chechnya in September 1999 following rebel attacks on Dagestan and apartment bombings in Moscow and other Russian cities that were blamed on the insurgents.
This week, Putin signed a troop reduction plan and turned over command of the war to Russia's chief security agency, saying a new strategy was needed to secure control of Chechnya.
Boucher said ''it remains to be seen whether this announcement represents a change in Russian strategy that could resolve the stalemate in Chechnya.''
In any event, he said, ''it doesn't preclude the need for a political settlement.''
Asked if the Bush administration agreed with the Clinton administration that Chechnya should remain part of Russia, Boucher said, ''We have not changed our view of the status of Chechnya in any way.''
In the meantime, a panel advising the Energy Department issued a report that urged Bush to appoint a high-level official at the White House to oversee U.S. efforts to help safeguard nuclear stockpiles in Russia and to stem the spread of nuclear technology.
''It is going to take someone who is at a high level to make sure this issue is not lost among other national security issues,'' Lloyd Cutler, a former White House counsel who served on the panel, said at a news conference.
''The most urgent unmet national security threat to the United States today is the danger that weapons of mass destruction or weapons-usable material in Russia could be stolen or sold to terrorists or hostile nation states and used against American troops abroad or citizens at home,'' the report found.
