Izvestia: "Ramzan Kadyrov wants Vladimir Putin to be President for life"
President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya had some remarkable things to say during a recent interview with Radio Liberty.
A correspondent for Radio Liberty interviewed Ramzan Kadyrov at his residence in Chechnya. The radio station's website carries a trailer showing Kadyrov playing billiards and then answering questions while sitting in his office. Apparently this was designed to stress the candour displayed by the Chechen leader. Ramzan Kadyrov has been very outspoken for some time. Below are some of his remarks during the interview.
On Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev:
"Putin is my icon. I love him, I respect him. I would give my life for him. I owe my life to that man. So, I feel very personal about it. As President of the Chechen Republic I should remind you that our common President is Dmitry Medvedev, a strong, wise and sound politician. If he were any different the team would not have promoted him, would not have supported him..."
"Would you like Putin to become President again?"
"Very much so. I want him to be the President of the Russian Federation for life."
On his own achievements:
"I have achieved... I have achieved nothing actually. The Republic has not been fully restored... what have I done? Rosneft has the oil, Gazprom has the gas, others have the electricity... You want all this to be owned by the Republic?"
"Why do we need all this trouble? We need money to rebuild our economy. Let Rosneft have all the oil and Gazprom have all the gas."
About Natalya Estemirova (human rights activist kidnapped in Grozny and murdered in Ingushetia):
"... If Kadyrov is to blame, if Kadyrov's people are to blame, let them prove it. Why should Kadyrov kill a woman who nobody cares about? She never had honour, dignity or conscience, and yet I appointed her chairperson of the Council. I did my best, I told her: ‘Let's take an unbiased approach and solve all these problems.' She didn't like it."
Vladimir Demchenko
