Hello, dear friends, and welcome everyone watching our channel. It's 8:08 PM in Moscow and the Wednesday News show is on Sotnik TV. My today's guest is Akhmed Zakaev. 
He is the head of the Chechen Republic government in exile. - Hello Akhmed, can you see and hear me?
- Hello Alexander. I can see and hear you. - Here's the story of the day that came a few hours ago. 
Alexey Navalny, an opposition figure was poisoned with a combat chemical agent similar to Novichok, as was declared today 
by the government of Germany. Initially, there were lots of questions and doubts regarding this story. I must admit that I was quite skeptical, but everything is clear from this moment. 
Even though some questions still remain, there's no point for the German military lab to lie about the chemical agent. What do you think about the possible purpose of this poisoning? 
Who could benefit from this? The assassination attempt was clumsy, dumb, and cruel. And now the consequences are coming. Did Russian authorities go totally insane? What is your take? 
- I've already heard the news so first of all let me wish Alexey Navalny good health. 
I wish courage and patience to his family and to his supporters. 
As you said there were lots of questions to this story from the moment it began. Those questions still remain and one of those is the one you've asked. Who benefits from this poisoning and why?
 I suppose that in this case, we shouldn't look for any logical reasons, as Putin's criminal regime has been acting completely irrationally. 
The assassination attempt was really clumsy, 
and the criminals can now be exposed. 
So it looks like by no means does Putin and his regime benefit from this story. However, they have long stopped using logical thinking. 
Also, I suppose that even the Kremlin may now be unable to control the situation inside Russia.
 Here's what I think. Initially, when Russian special services were provided with substances 
like chemical agents and all kinds of poisons, 
there was a special program for that. I have proof of my words, and I am not exaggerating. All those substances 
that were later used by Russians all over the world were first tested in Chechnya. 
Let me remind you of how everything started. I see how the current situation is linked to Chechnya. All those crimes 
that Putin's regime has been committing during the past 20 years trace back to Chechnya.
 The entire world witnessed the beginning of it, but modern Russian human rights activists 
are selective in such questions as protecting human rights 
and spreading democracy. 
Over the years the regime began using chemical agents 
to solve a wider range of problems. They first used poisons in Chechnya, then there was Russia, and finally a bunch of foreign countries. 
And this is what we see today. Personally, I knew everything from the very beginning. 
Let me tell you a story 
about chemical agents. Back in 2004,
 I received a call from the office of Boris Berezovsky, a Russian oligarсh.
 I was invited to meet an interesting person who came to Moscow from Saint Petersburg.
 He arrived to meet me as he needed to give me some important data. 
So when we met he informed me that Vladimir Putin released an order for his scientific labs 
to return to developing chemical agents. The developed substances were to be tested 
in Chechnya. That was why I had to inform the people in Chechnya and president Maskhadov as soon as possible. 
I had to inform Chechen resistance forces and to bring this case public. 
This man was ready to provide proof of everything he told me. That was the time when Boris Berezovsky was surrounded by many people 
who were trying to sell him some data harmful for Vladimir Putin. So initially I thought 
that my companion was looking for money, but he refused from it as he was doing this for humanitarian concerns. 
I attempted to bring this story public with the help of Alexander Litvinenko.
I tried to warn people that they began such kind of work. Soon I received more evidence from Chechnya. It revealed the cases of using those new substances 
in Chechnya against local opposition forces, or the politicians who opposed Putin back then. 
So it's a known fact that the Kremlin has been using poison against its opponents for years. 
After being the President for 20 years Vladimir Putin came to believe 
in his own impunity. That's why he orders his special forces to defiantly 
blackmail the entire world with either chemical agents, 
or bacteriological, or nuclear weapons. Russia is armed with all those kinds of weapons. 
- The market rate of the Russian Ruble dropped rapidly today amid the story of poisoning Navalny. 
I mean the news of them discover the Novichok poison. 
The price of the American Dollar increased at almost 2 Rubles, while the price of the Euro went up at over one and a half Rubles.  
Also, Germany began discussing possible future sanctions against Russia. 
Do you suppose that this incident can make Western countries adopt any serious sanctions against Russia?  
- Today it's really hard to predict the reaction of the world society to another crime committed by Putin 
in the territory of his own country. 
Nevertheless, I expect some reaction. Even though I can't say what kind of reaction there will be. Sadly, there's one thing Vladimir Putin has learned 
quite well. The modern West is no longer what it used to be. Back in the day, the West used to stand against the Soviet Empire of Evil. Unlike Ronald Reagan 
and Margaret Thatcher, modern politicians are not willing 
to go up against Putin's criminal regime. I'm really sorry to say this, 
but I see no western leaders who would dare to oppose it.  
During the past twenty years, the West has been flirting with Putin no matter what. 
Sometimes western leaders get emotional 
and express concern at Putin's behavior from time to time. On the other hand, no serious 
reaction follows, which allows Putin 
to do what he is doing now without a need to look out neither for the West nor for the East. But we'll see what happens now. 
Today's declaration by the German government was big which means 
a serious message for Putin. The story is developing amid 
the ongoing protests in a part of Russia and Belarus. 
I'm talking about the protest rallies in the Khabarovsk region and the rallies in Belarus. Those rallies pose 
a threat directly to Putin. Amid this, I guess that Putin will predictably react 
to any attempts by the West 
to show teeth. Today it's easy to predict his future moves.  
Putin knows and so does the rest of the world that he is allowed to do whatever he wishes as there won't be any punishment. 
Unfortunately, it makes the main problem as of today. - It was Akhmed Zakaev. Thank you for watching Sotnik TV. See you soon.
