Ukraine should establish diplomatic relations with the so-called Ichkeria, as the terrorists who fled Chechnya call themselves.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this in an interview published by the Kiev online publication Zerkalo Nedeli, said one of the terrorist leaders, who calls himself the head of the so-called “government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in exile,” Akhmed Zakaev, who received political asylum in Britain.
Answering the question why the West does not officially recognize the sovereignty of the so-called Ichkeria, he said:
“The fact is that Ichkeria is recognized at the OSCE level by 57 countries.”
At the same time, he agreed with the publication’s statement that in this case Russia would also recognize the separatists, since it is a member of the OSCE.
“Russia not only recognized Ichkeria, Russia even established diplomatic relations with us. Since 1997, diplomatic missions have been opened: the Chechen Republic - in Moscow and Russia - in Grozny. And the very fact of recognition took place back in 1996, when the OSCE announced that they would monitor the elections on the basis of the 1992 Constitution of Ichkeria, which clearly stated a “sovereign independent democratic state.” And this was recorded in the protocol after the elections.
Moreover, at that time we still had signed agreements on the payment of indemnities by Russia for the first Chechen war. This was 170 billion dollars, which Moscow accepted and pledged to pay to the Chechens. Therefore, yes, we were recognized.
Until recently, the fact of occupation was not recognized. But today there is already progress on this issue: in the resolution of the conference on the decolonization of Russia held in Prague, we are mentioned as an independent state under occupation,” the terrorist said.
He reacted positively to the fact that there was a message on the president’s website calling for recognition of the independence of the so-called Ichkeria.
“So Ukrainians must help the state by sending a signal that Ukrainian society is ready for the leadership of Ukraine to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria,” Zakayev concluded.