Salazhiyev was in no doubt the responsibility rested with the Kremlin. In southwest Chechnya, the village of Gekhi was still sealed off by troops Saturday but Itar-Tass news agency said later the blockade had been lifted. An army officer told Reuters they had been checking the identities of hundreds of people who stayed in their homes through four days of bombing, which ended Friday. The rebels appeared to have left. A local government official said 14 civilians had been killed and 72 injured in the assault.
Russian commanders say their use of force has been in response to provocations by the rebel side.
Gore, who arrived for talks Monday with President Boris Yeltsin and to oversee a U.S.-Russian joint commission, praised the conduct of the June 16 and July 3 polls in which Yeltsin defeated Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. More than 30,000 people have been killed since Moscow sent in troops in December 1994 to crush the southern region's bid for independence. After a six-week truce, fighting resumed shortly after the July 3 election runoff, with Russian forces using air strikes against villages they suspect of harboring rebels. Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin serve as co-chairmen of a commission that deals with a broad range of issues from business development to defense and environmental concerns. The high-powered U.S. delegation due to attend the talks includes Defense Secretary William Perry, Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary and Carol Browner, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.