Russia Finishes Chechen Pullout
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MOSCOW — The last Russian soldiers left the rebel republic of Chechnya on Sunday, ending a humiliating military involvement that began more than two years ago.
The pullout, part of last year’s peace agreement between Moscow and Chechen separatists, clears the way for general elections in Chechnya on Jan. 27.
The Russian ministries of interior and defense, which together had more than 30,000 troops in the southern republic, said Sunday that the pullout is complete.
“I’m authorized to state that not a single Interior Ministry or Defense Ministry soldier remains in Chechnya as of today,” Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Pavel Maslov told the Interfax news agency.
Russia has been withdrawing troops gradually since a peace deal was reached in August. Maslov said 16,000 to 18,000 Interior Ministry troops had departed in recent months. Defense Ministry spokesman Viktor Tkachenko declined to say how many army servicemen had withdrawn, but the numbers were believed to be similar.
Many Interior Ministry units are now stationed in the southern Russian regions of Dagestan and Stavropol, which border Chechnya.
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