In a statement released on 16 May and posted on chechenpress.com, Ilyas Akhmadov said the Chechen bombings on 12 and 14 May show the need for Russia to begin talks with \"the legitimate Chechen government of democratically elected President Aslan Maskhadov. \"Chechnya needs peace, and it needs it now,\" Akhmadov said. He said that Russia\'s \"policy of genocide\" in Chechnya impels individual Chechens to resort to terrorist acts. He stressed that the government he represents \"categorically and unconditionally\" rejects such actions, adding that \"a just peace is ultimately the only way to prevent this deeply alarming trend.\" (RFE/RL)