Asked about the negative impact of the sanctions on Chechnya, a region that since 2000 has seen marked improvement in its economic health, Kadyrov said that the republic was not much affected.
"We were really lucky in that respect because we had just started working with Europe," the Chechen leader explained saying that because of a lack of close ties with the EU the republic was "not particularly affected" and has maintained its economic growth.
Kadyrov called on other Russian regions to cooperate with countries that have not joined the United States and the European Union in imposing restrictions on Russia.
"We prefer Arabic states, Turkey, that have not betrayed and will not betray us, Russia," the leader of Chechnya said.
The European Union, the United States and a number of their allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia after Crimea seceded from Ukraine to rejoin Russia in March 2014. Western nations have been accusing Moscow of meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs, ignoring an over-96-percent vote by residents that saw Crimea rejoining Russia.
Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the Ukrainian crisis and has responded to Western sanctions with a one-year food import ban that was extended for an additional year in June.
