Authorities will not speed up resettlement from tent camps

Ingush authorities will not speed up the process of Chechen refugees' resettlement from tent camps, President of Ingushetia Murat Zyazikov said at a press conference in the office of Interfax agency on January 21.

"There are no deadlines. No special measures will be taken for it," said the Ingush President.

He added that the federal authorities and the leadership of Ingushetia and Chechnya would jointly solve the problem of displaced persons who stay on the Ingush territory.

"With all this going on, forced return is out of the question," noted Mr Zyazikov.

He visited the UN headquarters in Geneva on January 18-20 and met with the heads of UN agencies working in the North Caucasus.

Editors note: See also the article "UN raises concern about Russian authorities' intention to close all tent camps in Ingushetia by 1 March".