Lebed apologized on 2 July for criticizing the Church of the Latter-Day Saints but reiterated his opposition to foreign sects in Russia. He said he did not want to offend anyone, but reiterated that sects such as the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo are alien to Russia and have no place there, Russian and Western agencies reported. He also qualified remarks he had made about Russia's main religions, which caused a stir because he had not included Judaism in his list. He said, however, that non-government structures close to the president's position did give Lebed both financial aid and guidance organizing his campaign. Rumors continue to circulate in Moscow over the anti-corruption purge which Aleksandr Lebed is thought to be planning for the defense ministry.
Attention is likely to focus on the acquisition of dachas and apartments.
At a meeting of the Chechen defense council on the night of 1-2 July, military commanders resolved not to attend the meeting with the Russian federal delegation scheduled for 3 July to discuss implementation of the peace agreement signed in Nazran on 10 June, Russian media reported. Russian Nationalities Minister Vyacheslav Mikhailov and the deputy head of the Russian state committee for a settlement of the Chechen conflict, Sergei Stepashin, traveled to Gudermes to assess the situation there. Kohl affirmed his country's support for democratic and market reforms in Azerbaijan and for the ongoing efforts of the OSCE's Minsk Group, of which Germany is a member, to mediate a political settlement of the Karabakh conflict. ITAR-TASS reported on 2 July. Almaty's veterinary inspectorate reported that around 100 tons of infected beef has been smuggled into the country, possibly via Uzbekistan, since June.