U.S. Asylum for Chechen Draws Protest From Russia
WASHINGTON — The Russian government will protest a U.S. decision to grant asylum to an exiled Chechen leader considered a terrorist by the Russian government, an embassy source said Thursday.
Ilyas Akhmadov, the foreign minister of the exiled leadership of the separatist Russian republic, received asylum Monday after the Department of Homeland Security lifted an appeal filed this year, Akhmadov said in an interview.
"I am very happy this is over and I want to stay here and do what I can to work towards a political resolution to the conflict in Chechnya," Akhmadov said.
Russia issued an international arrest warrant for Akhmadov on terrorism charges in September 2003, and the Russian government objected when Akhmadov applied for political asylum in the United States, accusing him of associating with international terrorists, including Osama bin Laden.
The Russian Embassy source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Russians would demand more information and that U.S. asylum for Akhmadov could damage the cooperation between the two countries.
"We are very much disturbed and concerned about the situation," the embassy source said. "We are trying to get more data on what happened."
Asylum would "contradict the existing spirit of our relationship and partnership on counter-terrorism in particular," the embassy source said.
A Boston immigration court granted Akhmadov's asylum application last spring, but the Department of Homeland Security appealed the decision on June 1. It withdrew the appeal on July 13, and the grant of asylum decision became final on Monday, Akhmadov said in a telephone interview from his home in Vermont.
Chechnya is a complicated issue in relations between the United States and Russia.
On one hand, Russia is a declared ally in the "war on terror," and U.S. officials believe there have been some ties between Chechen rebels and Al Qaeda.
The United States has placed Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev on its official list of international terrorists; the Chechen government-in-exile has at times been supportive of Basayev.
On the other hand, the United States supports a peaceful settlement to the conflict and has expressed concerns about abuses committed by Russian soldiers in the occupied republic.
An exiled Chechen leader was assassinated in Qatar this year; authorities there have convicted two Russian intelligence agents in the murder.
