In mid-January, Sultygov, in an address to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, put forward three claims regarding the people of Ingushetia. Thus, he responded to Kadyrov’s ultimatum, in which he gave the Ingush three days to bring charges against him. Otherwise, the head of Chechnya promised to take full responsibility for those who are trying to denigrate him.
The first claim of the Ingush activist concerned territorial disputes and the definition of the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia. “Put commissions on both sides on the land issue, let them work. If this is not possible, please let us know <...>. Here is one justified claim. Retreat to the starting point, define the border along the entire perimeter <...>,” said the co-chairman of Mehk-Khela.
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He also asked the head of Chechnya to influence Chechen officials so that they would not allow “unpleasant expressions” against the Ingush people.
The third claim of Sultygov was the actions of the Chechen authorities in relation to the Ingush refugees who lived in Grozny during the military campaign and are registered. “Under various pretexts, they are removed from this register, put back on the queue, thrown back. Don’t let this happen,” the Ingush activist said.
Despite Sultygov’s response, after three days Kadyrov stated that no one from the Ingush people had turned to the elders or to himself and made accusations.
Disputes about the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia have been going on since the collapse of the USSR, before that the republics were part of a single Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In the early 2010s, a special commission decided to transfer part of the Sunzha region of Ingushetia to Chechnya, and part of the Nadterechny region of Chechnya to Ingushetia. In September 2018, Kadyrov and the then head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, signed a border agreement.