Caucasus experts point to risk of conflicts because of demarcation of Chechen-Dagestani border

The demarcation restart of the Chechen-Dagestani border may lead to conflicts in Northern Caucasus, the experts on the region interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have warned.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 3, Magomed Daudov, the Speaker of the Chechen Parliament, called on the Dagestani leadership to complete the border demarcation so as not to provoke conflicts of residents of both republics.

Victor Avksentiev, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Division of Social Philosophy and Ethnology at the North-Caucasian Federal University, believes that the demarcation restart of the Chechen-Dagestani border is "not encouraging, but sooner alarming."

According to his version, all the demarcation attempts in Northern Caucasus have resulted in conflicts. "Any attempts to redistribute the territories result in someone treating it as injustice. Moreover, it is clearly impossible to clearly define the borders," Mr Avksentiev has stressed.

In the development of the demarcation situation, the interrelations of Dagestani and Chechen authorities with the central government in Moscow are of utmost importance, said Professor Alexei Malashenko, the director of studies at the "Civilizations Dialogue" Institute.

"These are the both republics' relationships with the federal centre. There is some kind of game. In general, no matter what it ends with, one way or another, someone will be dissatisfied, either in Chechnya or in Dagestan," Mr Malashenko has stated.

In his opinion, this situation is unprofitable for the Kremlin today. "Because all the clarifications of relations are always on the verge of some kind of aggravation and confrontation," Alexei Malashenko has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 10, 2020 at 07:41 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.