On November 27, a conference of supporters of Chechnya's independence was held in Brussels, organized by Akhmed Zakayev, the de-facto Prime Minister of Ichkeria abroad.
"The purpose of the meeting was to unite the natives of Chechnya living abroad, advocating the independence of the republic, to discuss the future of Ichkeria; following the results of the conference, a resolution was adopted, which, among other things, indicated the need for an international protectorate over an independent Chechnya," the information stated.
Among the event participants were MEPs from Poland and Lithuania Anna Fotyga and Rasa Yuknyavichene, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleg Dunda and Oleksiy Goncharenko, former Russian State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, US analysts Paul Goble, Janusz Bugaisky and David Sutter.
Ibragim Yangulbaev, a representative of the Chechen opposition movement, also spoke at the conference. He stated the need to overcome disunity among the natives of Chechnya in Europe. In parallel with the event in Brussels, another part of the Chechen diaspora held a congress in France, following which the creation of a new movement, "United Force," was announced.
As previously reported by Caucasus Watch, on October 18, the Ukrainian parliament recognized the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as occupied by Russia. It condemned the genocide of the Chechen people. 287 MPs supported the resolution. The Rada's resolution mentioned the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's declaration of independence that followed the fall of the Soviet Union and the adoption of a constitution by its parliament on March 12, 1992. It established the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as a sovereign, independent, democratic, and legal state.
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is an unrecognized separatist state entity (1991-2000), created after the collapse of the USSR on the part of the territory of the former Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and dismantled by federal troops during the second Chechen war. The authorities of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria should not be confused with the organization "Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan," banned and recognized as a terrorist group by a Russian court.
