Movladi Udugov is dissatisfied with the PACE initiative on the Chechen settlement

counter-propaganda

The Kavkaz Center website published an interview with the head of the external subcommittee of the information committee of the State Defense Committee-Majlisul Shura of Ichkeria, Movladi Udugov, in which he accused the West of trying to break the Chechen resistance, and Russia of being unable to control the situation in the North Caucasus. The reason for the interview was the PACE initiative to hold a round table on the issue of Chechen settlement in Moscow in March of this year. The Chechen authorities called Mr. Udugov’s statements absurd, suggesting that in this way “the forgotten Ichkerian ideologist wanted to remind himself.”

The Europeans propose to seat representatives of the official Chechen authorities, “independent” Ichkeria, as well as Chechen and international human rights organizations at a round table. The event is scheduled to take place in March this year in Moscow. On Monday, PACE held a meeting of the working group to prepare for this event. Apparently, this was the reason for the interview with Movladi Udugov, which appeared yesterday on the Kavkaz Center website.

Mr. Udugov accuses PACE of following the Kremlin's lead. In his opinion, by seating together representatives of independent Ichkeria and the pro-Russian authorities of Chechnya, PACE intends to present the events in the Caucasus as an intra-Chechen conflict. Such attempts, he notes, have been made by the Russian leadership more than once, but have always failed. As Mr. Udugov believes, PACE has set itself the goal of “helping Moscow break the Chechen resistance, since Russian troops and special services are unable to cope with this task.” If the task is to end the war, then, according to him, PACE must organize real bilateral negotiations between the warring parties - Russia and Chechnya. But, according to Mr. Udugov, the West will not agree to this, because “it is afraid of the emergence of an independent state with Sharia rule in the Caucasus.”

The ideologist of Chechen independence notes that we are talking not only about the independence of Chechnya, but also about the political status and future of the entire North Caucasus: “Independent centers of resistance have formed in the republics neighboring Chechnya with a specific political goal - to deprive Russia of control over the Caucasus. Not only in In Chechnya there are people striving to free themselves from the Russian colonial yoke. The historical memory of the peoples of the Caucasus and the desire for freedom turned out to be stronger than centuries of colonial slavery. Resistance began to spread to other regions."

Representatives of the Chechen authorities called Mr. Udugov’s statements absurd. “Everyone has forgotten about him, and apparently he is somehow trying to remind himself,” Ziyad Sabsabi, Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen government and head of the Moscow representative office of the republic, told Kommersant. According to Mr. Sabsabi, the gangs remaining in the North Caucasus are part of international terrorism, and they will never find support either in the North Caucasus or in other regions of Russia. The head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Mikhail Margelov, also called Mr. Udugov’s statements “unfounded.” The senator recalled that the latest resolutions on Chechnya, adopted in Strasbourg within the Council of Europe, clearly indicate a change in emphasis in the position of European politicians: “All resolutions especially emphasize respect for the principle of territorial integrity.”

Even his former comrades do not agree with Mr. Udugov. “In his propaganda frenzy, he went a bit too far,” Vagap Tutakov, a former deputy of Ichkeria who is in France, told Kommersant. “Not a single idea that involves searching for ways of a peaceful settlement in Chechnya should be rejected out of hand.” According to Mr. Tutakov, the idea of discussing the Chechen topic under the auspices of the Council of Europe should be supported by everyone who wants peace in Chechnya.

MUSA K-MURADOV

Acute attack of Ichkeria