Mr Clinton arrived in Greece from the summit on European security in Istanbul, which ended with the signing of two important documents, one an agreement limiting the size of conventional military forces; the other a new security charter.

Russia has agreed to comply as soon as possible, but the foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, said there was no question of anyone mediating in Chechnya.

The Chechen foreign minister, Ilyas Akhmadov, has welcomed the final declaration, saying he's happy the European Security Organisation is addressing the problem in Chechnya. But a Chechen official in exile in Ingushetia told the BBC that although the rebels were losing ground to Russia, they would fight a guerrilla war until the last Russian soldier had left.