Chechen leader unveils "unofficial" passports - Russian report

The Chechen President, Aslan Maskhadov, has shown members of the Chechen parliament copies of a new Chechen passport the authorities there are going to issue shortly, ITAR-TASS news agency reported from the Chechen capital Groznyy.

Maskhadov's meeting with the Chechen MPs was shown on local Groznyy television on Wednesday night, the Russian agency said.

Maskhadov said he had personally brought back 200 of the new diplomatic and travel passports of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from his recent trip abroad, where they were produced, and another 100,000 would be brought to Chechnya from France before the end of the year.

The cover of the new passports features the national emblem of Ichkeria, and a wolf.

Maskhadov said the first 200 new passports would be issued to Chechen MPs because their duties included trips abroad.

He said the manufacture of Chechen vehicle number plates would also be completed soon.

"ITAR-TASS could not make Chechen officials answer a question about the legal grounds for the issue of the new documents, not approved by the Russian Federation, of which Chechnya is an inseparable part," the Russian agency reported.

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