Rostov-on-don, Russia, Feb 7, SPA -- A Chechen rebel leader told aRussian newspaper that a unilateral cease-fire he had announced should help pave the way for peace talks with the Kremlin, and an official confirmed Monday that the truce had been holding since the beginning of February. Last month, a rebel Web site carried statements by formerChechen President Aslan Maskhadov and warlord ShamilBasayev ordering that all offensive actions be halted inFebruary in Chechnya and bordering areas as "a display ofgood will." Maskhadov, president of Chechnya during its de-factoindependence in the late 1990s, said in an interviewpublished Monday that he hoped for an "adequate reaction"from the Russian authorities and added that he had named aspokesman abroad, Umar Khambiyev, head of a delegation fortalks with Moscow. "If our Kremlin opponents display sober reason, the warwill end at the negotiating table," Maskhadov told thebusiness daily Kommersant.--SPA1201 Local Time 0901 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/237403