Novosti quoted Nikolia Koshman, deputy premier of Russia, on Tuesday as saying that orders to vacate the city have been issued for security reasons and special ``corridors'' set up for their exit.

Speaking to a group of G-8 envoys based here he expressed hope that the Chechen refugees forced to seek shelter outside Chechnya would be ask to return to their homes by the end of December.

With the beginning of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Istanbul on Wednesday, Russia and the West have begun launching virulent attack on each other on the Chechen issue.

NATO states have accused Moscow of flouting international laws by bombing the Chechen population. But defence minister Igor Sergeyev on Tuesday said the US was striving to weaken Russia and assume full control over the North Caucasus. ``To keep thecoals of conflict smouldering in Chechnya and fanning it up appears to be in the interests of the US,'' he said.

He made it clear at the summit that they have no role to play in the conflict, as it was entirely an internal matter.

Pesident Boris Yeltsin will address the summit on Thursday and meet US President Bill Clinton before flying back to Moscow the same day.

Kremlin has offered one more opportunity to Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov to avoid frontal military conflict with the advancing Russian troops.

Quoting defence ministry sources, Voice of Russia said that Maskhadov must hand over terrorists Shamil Basayev and Jordanian mercenary Cammander Khattab to prove his control over the situation.