Today the U.S. government sanctioned the leader of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov for ‘gross violations of human rights’. Kadyrov has been accused of persecuting homosexuals in the territory. He is famous for declaring, “There are no gays in Chechnya”.
The North Caucasus have been a thorn in the Kremlin’s side for the last several decades, with Moscow and Grozny fighting two wars, both won by the Russian military, albeit with much destruction of Chechnya.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives Kadyrov free rein in the republic in exchange for peace. Moscow also largely subsidizes the Chechen economy.
“Today, the Department of State is publicly designating Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020. This designation is due to Kadyrov’s involvement in gross violations of human rights in the Chechen Republic,” the statement reads, reported Russian state news agency TASS.
Russian will find a way to respond to the US sanctions against head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday following US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s press statement on sanctions against Kadyrov.
“It will not be easy to give a tit-for-tat response but we will find a way to respond,” she wrote on her Facebook account.
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