-
ADD TIME NEWS
- MOBILE APPS
- NEWSLETTERS
The Talks That Failed
As
Shortly after seizing the school, the terrorists, who were demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, sent word that they wanted to negotiate with a group that included North Ossetia's President Alexander Dzasokhov. But Dzasokhov says when he tried to go to the school, he was stopped by the military, probably out of concern that he might be taken hostage. Dzasokhov told TIME: "A very high-ranking general from the Interior Ministry said, 'I have received orders to arrest you if you try to go.'" Meanwhile, Putin who has long refused to negotiate with Chechen separatists apparently sanctioned an effort to enlist an intermediary to help resolve the crisis: Aslan Maskhadov, the deposed successionist President of Chechnya. Dzasokhov told TIME that he talked to Maskhadov's London-based representative Akhmed Zakayev, and asked them to intervene. Zakayev, who says Maskhadov was "horrified at this atrocity," pledged cooperation and asked for guarantees of Maskhadov's safety when he came to Beslan. When they next talked, a day later, Dzasokhov said he needed two more hours to work out the details. It was too late: 40 minutes later, a bomb went off in the school and the slaughter began.
Involving Maskhadov was an unprecedented move. Dzasokhov also said the Russians made an offer to the terrorists including a safe corridor for them to escape but no answer came from inside the school. "As long as I live," says Dzasokhov, "I will be playing this over in my mind."
Most Popular »
- The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- How to Get Smarter, One Breath at a Time
- Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
- In Italy, A Sex Scandal to Rival Berlusconi's
- Will Dubai's Financial Problems Spread Around the Globe?
- Germany's Doubts About Afghanistan Grow After Revelations About Air Strike
- Satyam Computer Fraud Grows to $2.5 Billion
- A Brief History Of Black Friday
- Pie
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
- How to Get Smarter, One Breath at a Time
- Is Gene Therapy Finally Ready for Prime Time?
- The Gospel of Glee: Is It Anti-Christian?
- Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
- Workers of the World vs. China Inc.
- In Italy, A Sex Scandal to Rival Berlusconi's
- Will Dubai's Financial Problems Spread Around the Globe?
- Satyam Computer Fraud Grows to $2.5 Billion







RSS