Following the intervention by commanders of the regional operations headquarters and of the combined force in the North Caucasus, and by Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, the two refugees, who were returning with me to Russia from Azerbaijan were cleared," Khambiyev told Interfax by phone on Sunday.

Khambiyev said he had been entrusted "to hold talks with representatives of the Chechen communities in Azerbaijan, Turkey and other countries, and to persuade them to come back to Russia."

"The Chechen authorities' swift moves will facilitate the mission," he added.

Khambiyev earlier told Interfax that when he was returning from Azerbaijan, he and his two companions - a man and a woman, were detained on the Russian side of the border and were moved to the Derbent police department.

Khambiyev said he had had "a series of meetings with forced migrants in Azerbaijan, who proposed repatriating [Khambiyev's] relatives first, and said they would decide, judging from their example, whether to return to Chechnya or whether to stay in Azerbaijan."

Speaker of the lower house of the Chechen parliament Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov told Interfax that "the incident was immediately reported to the command of the combined forces and of the regional operations headquarters, and to Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, who got in touch with law enforcement services in Dagestan and settled the incident," Abdurakhmanov said.

"Khambiyev's mission is very important and no one will be allowed to hamper it," he said.

"Khambiyev was instructed to meet with people who, for political, military or other reasons, left Chechnya and Russia during the counter- terror operation, and who call themselves representatives of "non- existent Ichkeria," Abdurakhmanov told Interfax on Sunday.

Khambiyev received the mandate to hold relevant talks from Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, he said.

Khambiyev's mission is to "make it clear, that all those who did not slur themselves with crime and blood, can freely return to their families in Russia and Chechnya, with all appropriate security guarantees provided," Abdurakhmanov said.

"The length of Khambiyev's mission is not limited to a week or a month. He will remain abroad as long as he needs to fulfill his assignment. He is expected to do a great deal of work in Turkey, in Azerbaijan and in other countries, where these people reside, including those who have never held weapons, and who don't see any radical change in Chechnya and still hope for Ichkeria revival," he said.

Those who return to Russia "will be given an opportunity to engage in public activities, start a business, work in their chosen field on condition that they will observe the constitution and law, he added.

"The step taken by Kadyrov demonstrates that the Chechen government is strong and that the federal authorities have opted for a clear-cut course to settle the situation in the region finally, and to do away with the criminal armed groups and, what's more, to consolidate Chechen society," the Chechen parliamentary speaker said.

Abdurakhmanov did not say who will be the first Ichkerian representatives Khambiyev will meet with, saying the premature release of this information could hinder his mission.

/www.interfax.ru/