The US government has welcomed the offer by Chechnya's rebel leader to begin peace talks with the Russian government.
The US State Department described it as a positive step towards ending the two-year-old war.
Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin's envoy is in southern Russia for negotiations with an envoy representing rebel leader Mr Aslan Maskhadov.
Mr Maskhadov played a key role in negotiating the end to the 1994-6 Chechnya war, but his authority over the rebels and respect among the Russians have since suffered.
He said yesterday he would send Mr Akhmed Zakayev, the deputy prime minister of the rebel government, to the talks.
"We understand Maskhadov has announced dispatching of an envoy," a US State Department official said. "This is the first positive development with the Russians in many months."
Mr Maskhadov says the offer to start negotiations means "there is a real chance to start talks on the quick cessation of military actions and on the peaceful solution of centuries of accumulated conflicts".
Mr Viktor Kazantsev, the Kremlin's envoy for southern Russia and a former commander of the Russian military force in Chechnya, was appointed to lead the negotiation effort from the Russian side.
"We believe that President Putin made a sincere proposal to the Chechen side and hope that Maskhadov's quick response indicates his sincere commitment to work toward a lasting peace in Chechnya as well," said the State Department official.
While Moscow claims to have re-established control over Chechnya, its troops are killed daily in rebel assaults and landmine explosions.
PA