MOSCOW: Ramzan Kadyrov, the outspoken leader of Russia’s Chechnya republic, said he was ready to step down, leaving it for the Kremlin to choose his successor.
Kadyrov, a 41-year-old father of 12 whose interests vary from thoroughbred horses to wrestling and boxing, has been accused by human rights bodies of arbitrary arrests and torture of opponents, zero tolerance of sexual minorities and tough political declarations that have embarrassed the Kremlin.
A former Islamist rebel who had led Chechnya since 2007, he was endorsed by President Vladimir Putin in March last year to carry on in the job, while being warned that Russian law must be strictly enforced in the majority-Muslim region.
Asked in a TV interview if he was prepared to resign, Kadyrov replied: “It is possible to say that it is my dream.”
“Once there was a need for people like me to fight, to put things in order. Now we have order and prosperity ... and time has come for changes in the Chechen Republic,” he told Rossiya 1 nationwide channel in comments aired early on Monday in central Russia.
Asked about his would-be successor, Kadyrov replied: “This is the prerogative of the state leadership.”
“If I am asked ... there are several people who are 100 percent capable of carrying out these duties at the highest level.” He did not elaborate.
Kadyrov’s unexpected statement comes as Putin, 65, is widely expected to announce he will run for his fourth term as president in elections due in March.
The former KGB spy is widely expected to win by a landslide if he chooses to seek re-election, but some analysts have said his association with politicians like Kadyrov may be exploited by opponents during the campaign.
Chechnya, devastated by two wars in which government troops fought pro-independence rebels, has been rebuilt thanks to generous financial handouts from Russia’s budget coffers. It remains one of Russia’s most heavily subsidised regions.
Describing Putin as his “idol,” Kadyrov said in the interview: “I am ready to die for him, to fulfil any order.”
Kadyrov also strongly denied a Chechen link to the killing of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in 2015.
In June, a Moscow court convicted five Chechen men of murdering Nemtsov, one of Putin’s most vocal critics. Nemtsov had been working on a report examining Russia’s role in Ukraine. His killing sent a chill through opposition circles.
“I am more than confident ... these (Chechen) guys had nothing to do with that. According to my information, they are innocent,” Kadyrov said in the interview.
Russia’s Chechnya leader says he is ready to resign, Kremlin to pick successor
Russia’s Chechnya leader says he is ready to resign, Kremlin to pick successor
Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers
- Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops
- The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities
HAVANA: Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation’s north coast.
The island’s interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”
Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the US who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.
“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”
Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.
Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island’s economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a US military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
