Yeltsin agrees to hold direct talks with Chechen rebel leadership

A complete break with previous policy President Yeltsin has agreed to hold direct talks in Moscow with the leader of the Chechen rebels, Mr Zelimkhan Yandirbayev.

Previously Mr Yeltsin has been adamant that he would not talk to terrorists but he softened his attitude at the end of March by saying he was prepared to open a dialogue through mediators.

With his presidency at stake in elections in just five weeks time, and following a battle on Wednesday near the village of Bamut in which at least 40 Russian soldiers lost their lives, Mr Yeltsin has now climbed down and agreed to speak personally with the Chechen rebel leadership.

It will not necessarily be portrayed in this way by the Russian media, the vast majority of which is either controlled by Mr Yeltsin or supports him as the only alternative to a return to communism. However, in real terms the announcement made in the northern city of Arkhangelsk last night represents a major volte face by the Russian president in his bid for re-election.

Most opinion polls put Mr Yeltsin slightly ahead of the Communist candidate, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, but Russian opinion polls, most of them taken in the larger cities in which the Communists are unpopular, have been notoriously unreliable in the past.

The only poll by the agency ISP - which has predicted Russian elections accurately in the past - has put Mr Zyuganov well clear of Mr Yeltsin. However, the group's director, Mr Betaneli, predicted yesterday that the Communist lead was likely to be dissipated in a second round of voting on June 7th. This is obligatory under Russian law.

The main success of Mr Yeltsin's campaign so far has been to squash the candidatures of his democratic opponents, such as the economist Mr Grigory Yaylinsky and the world famous eye surgeon, Mr Sviatoslav Fyodorov, in order to put himself forward as the only alternative to the Communists. This has been achieved by a mixture of skilful public relations and crude bias, particularly on the state controlled TV stations. These reach 98 per cent of the electorate in a country in which some regions are 50 remote that national newspapers are a rare luxury.

There is no guarantee, however, that the talks between Mr Yeltsin and Mr Yandarbiyev will take place. And even if they do, it is not certain that they will be successful either before the elections or at all.

Mr Yeltsin had promised to visit Chechnya in mid May to open peace talks, but the deadline has since passed, amid threats of assassination attempts.

While the polls show Mr Yeltsin either ahead of his Communist opponent or gaining on him, most observers still feel the race is headed for a statistical dead heat. Most of those who say they will vote for Mr Yeltsin, support him reluctantly as the "lesser of two evils", while Mr Zyuganov's supporters are more committed and therefore more likely to turn out on the day.

In this event the weather could play a part but in precisely the opposite way that it does in the west. What Mr Yeltsin's supporters fear is not rain but a sunny polling day on which many might be tempted to head for their country dachas rather than remain in town to vote.