The Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) draws attention to the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to launch the “Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces.” Also, information has emerged regarding the inclusion of Ruslan Kutayev, President of the Assembly of Nations of the Caucasus, in the Russian opposition delegation being formed for PACE.
In this regard, I consider it necessary to state the following:
1. Ruslan Kutayev acts solely in his capacity as president of the public organisation “Assembly of the Nations of the Caucasus.” The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is not part of this organisation and has not delegated any powers to it. Accordingly, Ruslan Kutayev does not represent any state institutions or diplomatic structures of the CRI and is not authorised to speak on its behalf within this platform.
2. The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is an independent state temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. The occupation was officially recognised by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 18 October 2022. Any attempts to substitute the participation of individual Chechen individuals at Russian political forums for the issue of the international legal status of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria constitute political manipulation and will not entail any legal consequences for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
3. The government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria intends to seek the creation and institutionalisation of a separate Chechen platform within the PACE. Such a format should reflect objective reality: the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is not a “region of Russia” or part of the “Russian opposition agenda,” but a temporarily occupied state with legitimate institutions and the right to independent international representation. We expect the Council of Europe bodies to structure their interaction with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria within a separate, appropriate legal and political framework.
4. The issue of the de-occupation and restoration of Ichkeria’s sovereignty can be resolved exclusively based on a peace treaty between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, using international legal mechanisms, diplomatic instruments, and cooperation with recognised states and international organisations. It cannot be “dissolved” in the agendas of platforms and forums created to discuss the future of the Russian Federation, even if they are positioned as “oppositional.”
5. The only acceptable path for interaction between the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) and the Russian opposition is possible only with the fundamental recognition of the legal basis for relations between the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) and the Russian Federation. This basis is the 1997 Treaty on the Principles of Relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) Aslan Maskhadov. Any dialogue is possible only if Russian democratic forces are prepared to recognise this treaty as a starting point and build relations with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) on this basis—as an independent entity under international law, not as an “internal issue of Russia.”
Prime Minister of the Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria A. Zakayev
27 January 2026
Чечен-пресс
