MOSCOW, June 1 (RIA Novosti)- Chechnya's president said Thursday that he believed the conflict in the troubled southern republic was over and said a European delegation would be expected in the capital by the year's end.
"I am not idealizing the situation in Chechnya," Alu Alkhanov told Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio. "We understand only too well that there are many problems. But I believe that the Chechen conflict...is over."
Alkhanov said the region's problems were the result of the long years of fighting.
He also said that Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, would host a meeting with representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, one of Europe's most respected bodies, whose rapporteurs have often been critical of the situation in the North Caucasus.
"By the end of the year, a roundtable with PACE representatives will be held in the Chechen capital," Alukhanov said.
In response to a question about his allegedly poor relations with Chechnya's prime minister, Ramzan Kadyrov, Alukhanov said they occasionally had disagreements but they had no impact on life in the republic.
"There are problems in [every] family," he said. "But our personal relations cannot and will not influence the situation in Chechnya, the state of affairs in the republic."
