INGUSH PRESIDENT TO DISCUSS IN GENEVA RETURN OF DISPLACED PERSONS FROM INGUSHETIA TO CHECHNYA

MOSCOW, January 18 (RIA Novosti) - President of Ingushetia (North Caucasian republic neighboring on Chechnya), Murat Zyazikov will arrive on Monday at the UN Headquarters in Geneva to discuss issues connected with the return of displaced persons from Ingushetia to Chechnya. Zyazikov's visit will last until January 20.

The Ingush president will meet with representatives of the UNHCR, the UN Development Program and the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

About 4,200 forced migrants from the Chechen republic are residing as of today in three tent camps in Ingushetia. On Friday Russian Federal Minister for Chechnya, Stanislav Ilyasov promised President Vladimir Putin that "all forced migrants will return to Chechnya from tent camps in Ingushetia by March 1." At the same time, he said, 25,000 of them are staying to permanently reside in Ingushetia.

Ilyasov said the process of returning migrants had been on for over three years. There were 750,000 displaced persons in Chechnya. Now only 50,000 remain, half of whom, mainly Ingushes, want to stay to live in Ingushetia. This issue has been agreed upon with the Ingush leadership, the minister said.

Ilyasov added that every day up to 100 families of forced migrants are sent back to Chechnya.