Analysts treat Kadyrov's statement about POWs as his personal initiative

Ramzan Kadyrov's proposal to lift sanctions in exchange for the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) was his personal initiative, not of the Kremlin, which is also confirmed by the attempt of the head of Chechnya to explain his words, analysts have pointed out, emphasizing that decisions about POWs are made in Moscow.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 5, Kadyrov stated that he was ready to release 20 Ukrainian POWs if sanctions were lifted from his relatives, horses and aircrafts. He later treated his words as "trolling" against American authorities.

Kadyrov's statement about the release of POWs was his personal initiative, Sergey Zhavoronkov, a political analyst, believes. "It's unlikely that he would call this a joke if it were not his personal initiative, but the one of the Kremlin," he has explained, adding that the Kadyrov's proposal was "a sort of invasion" into the Kremlin's competence.

Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior researcher at the Centre for Problems of the Caucasus and Regional Security at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (known as MGIMO), has expressed doubt that the exchange scheme voiced out by Kadyrov is ever possible. "It is unlikely that it's possible to agree with the West on lifting of sanctions in exchange for POWs' liberation. I don't think that such a scheme is possible," he has noted.

Andrei Koshkin, an expert at the Association of Military Political Analysts, is sure that Kadyrov was really "trolling" Western politicians. However, in his opinion, Kadyrov's attitude is taken into account when exchanging POWs.

Kadyrov is allowed to speak out more than other regional leaders, Alexei Gunya, a political analyst, believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 6, 2024 at 08:00 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.