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European parliamentary team

heads for Chechnya

MOSCOW: A Council of Europe parliamentary delegation left for Chechnya on Saturday where it was to visit two Russian detention centres, at Chernokozovo in the north and in the capital Grozny.

The mission, headed by Lord Judd, was to determine whether Moscow was respecting the 10 points drawn up in January by European MPs to end the crisis in the breakaway republic an improve the human rights situation in the conflict-stricken region.

In January, the Council of Europe envisaged suspending the presence of the Russian delegation in Strasbourg over the situation in Chechnya, but finally gave Moscow until April "to make progress" over human rights.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Thursday urged the delegation to exercise sober judgement during the trip, warning council members out to be swayed by emotions.

"We're not about emotion, we're about measuring what exactly is happening," countered Judd, a former head of the British-based Oxfam aid agency. "We're about looking at facts".ÑAFP