Chechnya speaker vows to arm Mexico if U.S. gives weapons to Ukraine
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 26 March 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Chechnya speaker vows to arm Mexico if U.S. gives weapons to Ukraine, 26 March 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/552f9d9f32.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
March 26, 2015
By RFE/RL
The head of the legislature in Russia's Chechnya region says that Russia will provide arms to Mexico if Washington supplies weapons to Ukraine.
Chechen Parliament Speaker Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov said the arms would be aimed at reigniting U.S.-Mexican disputes over "territories annexed by the United States in the American states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and part of Wyoming."
"We will perceive arms shipments to Ukraine as a signal to respond in kind," Abdurakhmanov said in a March 24 statement posted on the Chechen parliament's website.
Abdurakhmanov is a close associate of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed strongman who rules Chechnya.
Prominent U.S. lawmakers have called on U.S. President Barack Obama to supply Ukraine with weapons they say will allow Kyiv to protect its territory against Russian-backed separatists.
The Obama administration has resisted the calls, saying the move could result in greater bloodshed between Ukrainian forces and the separatists in a conflict that has killed more than 6,000 people since April 2014.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
