Independence is not a whim or an ambition. It is the necessary condition of our survival as an ethnic group.
It is not advantageous for Russia in its present state to fight against Chechnya. The army is a mess. It must be made combat ready. That will take time. Russia has a lot of economic, social and political problems much more important than Chechnya.
It would be easier to fight the Russian army, and it would give me great satisfaction, but I have a responsibility to my people
I assure you, it would be much more pleasant for me to be an ordinary voter in peaceful Chechnya than the president of a republic at war.
Western States keep playing with, and around, Russia.
A foreign ideology cannot be introduced into Chechnya - were it through an Arab or al-Qaeda. Our experience is rich and long enough for us to be Muslims and know what jihad is.
The war is ending, for the first time in the history of relations between Moscow and Grozny, and the era of peace is starting.
