4. Juni 2005

Chechenpress
Department of official Information



Read the interview

Comment from A. Zakayev on A. Gross's interview with the "Tagesanzeiger"

On request from Chechenpress, ChRI Government Minister and Special Envoy of the ChRI President A. Zakayev gave a brief comment on the interview of PACE Speaker on Chechnya Andreas Gross in the Swiss newspaper "Tagesanzeiger".

I have read Andreas Gross's interview in the "Tagesanzeiger" newspaper with great interest. Two moments draw immediate attention: Leaving the futile concept of «Chechnya as an integral part of Russia», he proposes to Chechnya a «real autonomy» inside Russia and to achieve independent statehood later. Simultaneously Mr. Gross notes that «successful autonomies are only possible in a democratic constitutional state, where the people trust the state institutions», stating in this way that there is no democracy in Putin's Russia and that there is a revival of totalitarianism. The question arises, if the «successful autonomy» which Mr. Gross proposes to Chechnya can only be attained in a democratic constitutional state, and Russia is no democratic constitutional state, why then deliberately propose a project that is doomed to failure?

The aforesaid does in no way mean that the legitimate Chechen leadership would be ready to consider the new concept of Mr. Gross as an acceptable version, even in the case that democratic freedoms would be victorious in Russia and human rights would flourish. The national sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is not and cannot be an object of political trading. The Chechen nation has once and for all decided its historic choice and will defend it till the end. Fighting a centuries-old struggle with the Russian empire and the two extremely heavy wars of the last years, and losing a quarter of its population in these wars, our nation has paid the highest price for its freedom and independent statehood, and it will never forego them. The Chechen leadership has repeatedly declared that - with the appropriate agreements - it is ready to consider the legitimate economical and geostrategic interests of Russia. However, there cannot be any political integration of the ChRI into the political system of the state of the RF, in the form of "autonomy" or any other form or language.

Finally, I would like to draw the attention of Mr. Gross and all interested people to the fact that I never was and never will be in any «group» (which Mr. Gross writes about), and all the more, I do not head this «group». Since 1994 I have been a government minister of the ChRI, and in the Second Russian-Chechen War I am carrying out the foreign policy commissions from the Chechen leadership as a special envoy of the President of the ChRI. And I would under no circumstances be the one who carries out political initiatives which to the least degree are in conflict with the general course officially accepted by the legitimate Chechen leadership. All my statements and each of my negotiations with political figures of foreign countries and international organizations are always strictly in accordance with this general course and are conducted on behalf of the legitimate Chechen government, and after the most thorough consultations with it.

Ahmed Zakayev
http://www.chechenpress.com/events/2005/06/04/16.shtml
[My unauthorized translation]



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