The Russian prime minister, Yevgeniy Primakov, has had talks with the Chechen leader, Aslan Maskhadov.

Mr Primakov said after the meeting in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the Russian republic of North Ossetia, that Russia and Chechnya had agreed to co-ordinate their efforts on combatting crime, particularly a recent wave of kidnappings in Chechnya.

Mr Primakov also said he and Mr Maskhadov had done all they could to end what he called "the tragic episode" of the war over Chechnya's bid for independence.

Earlier, Mr Primakov also saw the North Ossetian president, Aleksander Dzasokhov and the president of neighbouring Ingushetia, Ruslan Aushev, on ways of ending ethnic conflict between the two republics which fought a short war in 1992.