§ Mr. ElletsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the crisis in Chechnya with the German Foreign Minister; and what assessment he has made of whether a common European response to it exists.
§ Mr. GoodladMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs last discussed the crisis in Chechnya with the German Foreign Minister, Herr Kinkel, on 1 February.
A common European response has been agreed within the framework of the common foreign and security policy. All EU members share the view that the fighting in Chechnya needs to be brought to an end, and negotiations on a political settlement started. The EU has given its full support to the OSCE's efforts to help find a lasting 12W solution. Its position has been made clear in statements issued by the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 January and 6 February.
§ Mr. ElletsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's latest estimate of(a) Russian military casualties (b) civilian casualties in Chechnya.
§ Mr. GoodladThere are no independently verifiable figures available for the casualty figures in Chechnya. However, on 11 February, General Kolesnikov was quoted as saying 1,020 Russian soldiers had been killed. On 9 February, the Russian Interfax agency claimed that 3,400 Russian soldiers had been wounded.
The Russian human rights ombudsman, Sergei Kovalev, has estimated 25,000 civilians have been killed or wounded. He arrived at this figure after questioning refugees about their personal experiences and extrapolating an overall figure from these eye witness accounts.