RUSSIAN EMBASSY REFUTES ALLEGATIONS IN VJESNIK DAILY

( Editorial: --> 4254 ) ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - OSCE mission in Croatia head Tim Guldimann was not declared persona non grata in Russia and his 1996/97 performance in Chechenya has always been highly valued, the Russian Embassy said in a special statement Friday. The statement was issued in reaction to an article which appeared in today's issue of the Vjesnik daily under the headline "Guldimann Also Unwelcome in Croatia". According to the article, Guldimann "was at one time allegedly declared persona non grata in Russia and Chechenya". From January 1996 to April 3, 1997 Guldimann headed the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission in Chechenya. On February 4, 1997, the country's authorities, headed by Zelimkan Jandarbiyev, banished Guldimann from Grozni, with the explanation that he had allegedly been giving statements which prejudged that Chechenya would remain part of the Russian Federation. Guldimann was notified about the banishment by current Chechenyan Foreign Minister Ruslan Chimayev, who told the OSCE mission head his presence in the country was no longer welcome. Following that, Russian authorities annulled the decision made by local Grozni authorities, stating that Russian regions were not authorised to make such decisions. On April 3, 1997 Guldimann resigned to the duty of OSCE mission head in Chechenya and was replaced by Dane Rudolf Thorning-Petersen. (hina) ha jn/mrb 152020 MET may 98