On March 31 a Federation Treaty was signed by 18 of the 20 autonomous republics within the Russian Federation, delimiting powers between the centre and the regions.

Two autonomous republics, Tatarstan and Chechen-Ingushetia, both refused to initial or sign the Federation Treaty.

The Federation Treaty was included in the text of the 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR.

Dudayev also refused to sign the Russian Federation Treaty and the republic boycotted the Russian legislative elections.

Dudayev refused to sign the Russian Federation Treaty and the republic boycotted Russian polls last December.

The Federation Treaty was signed in March 1992 by President Yeltsin and most leaders of the autonomous republics and other ethnic and geographical subunits.

When the constitution was ratified, the Federation Treaty was demoted to the status of a subconstitutional document.

This treaty has particular significance because Tatarstan was one of the two republics that did not sign the Federation Treaty in 1992.

The Congress's final statement called on the leaders of the republics to denounce the Russian Federation Treaty, to seek real independence and to establish regional security forces, based on their national guards.

The split of Chechen-Ingushetia had been forced by Chechnia's November 1991 secession declaration and refusal to sign the Russian Federation Treaty.