I am convinced that international terrorism gave itself the goal of not allowing the re-election of Bush. The statement by bin Laden in the final stages of the pre-election campaign is the best confirmation of this.

Even if we do not always agree on every aspect, nobody should take this as an excuse to declare us as enemies.

I like other sports, too, including skiing and swimming, and I am learning to play ice hockey now. But judo is definitely part of my life, a very big part, and I am glad that judo was the first sport I took up and that I have practiced it regularly and seriously. I am also grateful to Japan for this.

The fight against terrorism is something very real and practical for us. This is a fight to preserve our territorial integrity, and in this sense we need to have the instruments and create an environment in Russia that would make it impossible for the international terrorist organisations to achieve the aims they have set for themselves here.

Yes, life in Chechnya so far looks more like a life after a natural disaster.

Democracy cannot be exported to some other place. This must be a product of internal domestic development in a society.

Of course one always has to follow international law. This was also the case in Crimea. According to the Charter of the United Nations, every people has the right to self-determination.