21.  And Russian officials were saying the chances of negotiating a settlement had sharply diminished because nobody had surfaced with sufficient authority to speak for all Chechen secessionists.

22.  And some Russian military officials were quick to register their dissent.

23.  And Tuesday for the first time, Russian officials acknowledged that the armed forces had suffered heavy losses.

24.  And would hardline Russian officials, bitter about their humiliation on the battlefield, resist the temptation to strike back?

25.  And, a Russian official proclaimed, the works are not going back.

26.  Another reason why a breakthrough does not seem near is that Russian officials know missile defense is a campaign issue.

27.  Another Russian official, Valery Koulichov, director of the department of restitution of the ministry of culture, offered a mea culpa of his own.

28.  Arlacchi described Russian officials as extremely worried that profits generated by Afghan opium could be used by Islamic militants to destabilize Tajikistan and other neighbors in Central Asia.

29.  As a result of the street clashes, the pace of the Russian advance has slowed, some Russian officials acknowledged.

30.  As long as Russian officials are saying things like that, it is hard to imagine a new Cold War.