プーチン氏は「力にのみ理解」 元チェス王者カスパロフ氏インタビュー

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】チェスの元世界チャンピオンで、ロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン（政権を批判するガルリ・カスパロフ（６０）氏は１２日、米首都ワシントンでＡＦＰのインタビューに応じ、侵攻を受けるウクライナへの支援強化を西側諸国に呼び掛けるとともに、プーチン政権に対抗する上で反体制派の意見を採り入れる必要性を訴えた。（写真はインタビューに応じるチェスの元世界チャンピオンで政治活動家のガルリ・カスパロフ氏。米ワシントンで）
　カスパロフ氏は今月６日、ロシア金融監督当局により「過激派」リストに追加されたばかり。
　プーチン政権についてカスパロフ氏は、「力にのみ理解があるテロリスト政権」と指弾。ウクライナに対する軍事支援拡大を呼び掛けた。
　反体制派指導者アレクセイ・ナワリヌイ氏が先月獄死したことに関しては、ロシア大統領府（クレムリン）に責任があると非難。「ナワリヌイ氏暗殺」はプーチン氏による反体制派弾圧の「新たな節目」となったと語った。
　その上で、「われわれが対峙（たいじ）している敵はこの戦争に勝とうとしている。プーチンはウクライナや北大西洋条約機構（ＮＡＴＯ）、欧州連合（ＥＵ）にのみ戦争を仕掛けているのではなく、自由主義と国際秩序に戦いを挑んでいる」と話した。
　■「クリミアはウクライナのもの」
　カスパロフ氏はプーチン氏による侵略に対抗するため、西側諸国はロシア反体制派の声に耳を傾けるべきだと強調する「プーチン主義とそれが体現するすべての悪の勢力を打ち負かすためには、シャルル・ドゴール元大統領の『自由フランス』のような、ロシア組も含めた勢力を結集する必要がある」と述べた。
　「自由フランス」は、第２次世界大戦中に英ロンドンに亡命したドゴール氏が率いたレジスタンス運動だ。
　「『（ロシア）政権は非合法で戦争は犯罪、クリミアはウクライナのもの』と主張できる人々を、この闘いに取り込まなければならない」
　カスパロフ氏は「今、ロシア国外に『自由ロシア』の土台を構築する必要がある。われわれは半ば冗談でそれを『バーチャル台湾』と呼んでいる」と語った。
　ただしロシアの反体制派は、ばらばらなことで有名だ。ナワリヌイ氏陣営もかつてはカスパロフ氏と対立していた。
　ここ数週の間にも、ロシアの大統領選に際してどのような形で異議を唱えるかをめぐり、反政権派の間で新たな意見対立があった。大統領選では真の対立候補は立候補すら許されず、選挙管理委員会の職員はプーチン氏の支配下に置かれているため、同氏の勝利は確実視されている。
　■「壊滅的な結末はどうなったのか？」
　チェス界のレジェンド、カスパロフ氏は２００５年、政治活動に集中するため競技から引退。ここ１０年ほどは米ニューヨークに住んでいるが、ロシアの侵攻に立ち向かうウクライナの戦いへの全面支援に、西側諸国が及び腰なことにいら立ちを見せる。
　西側の対ロシア制裁はほとんど成果を挙げていないとし、差し押さえたロシア資産の活用を含むウクライナ向け支援資金の拡充や、長距離ミサイルの供与を訴えた。
　また、米国のジョー・バイデン大統領政権がロシアに与えるとしていた「壊滅的な結末」についても触れ、「あれはどうなったのか？」と語った。
　「残念ながら西側は後手後手に回っている。西側が弱さをさらけ出すたびに、さらなる侵略をどうぞとプーチンにお墨付きを与えることになる」 【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/03/19-17:36）

Kremlin critic and chess legend Garry Kasparov on Tuesday called for a stronger Western response to Moscow's aggression in Ukraine and said Russian dissident voices must be included in efforts to stand up to Vladimir Putin.
In an interview with AFP, the former world chess champion who last week was put on Russia's list of extremists, called for more military aid to Kyiv against a terrorist regime that only understands force.
Kasparov, 60, blamed the Kremlin for the death in prison last month of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and said it marked a new low in Putin's crackdown on dissent.
?Navalny?s murder?is a new milestone,? Kasparov said. ?We are dealing with an enemy who wants to win this war, because Putin is waging war not only against Ukraine, NATO and the EU, but also against the liberal world order.?
Navalny, the Russian president's main opponent, died suddenly at the age of 47 in an Arctic prison in mid-February of what officials said were natural causes. Navalny's team and Western leaders blame the Kremlin, which denies responsibility.
Navalny was buried in Moscow earlier this month, with tens of thousands of Russians queuing to lay flowers despite the threat of arrest in a striking display of dissent. His widow Yuliya Navalnaya pledged to continue his work.
- 'Criminal' war, 'Ukrainian' Crimea -
Kasparov, widely viewed as one of the world's greatest chess players, retired from chess in 2005 to focus on political activism and has lived in exile in New York for the past decade.
In the interview, Kasparov urged the West to include Russian opposition voices in efforts to oppose Putin's aggression.
In order to defeat Putinism and all the forces of evil that it represents, there needs to be a coalition that would include this Russian component, like (Charles) de Gaulle's Free French, Kasparov said referring to the French resistance movement during World War II, which de Gaulle headed from London.
The people who are ready to say: 'The regime is illegitimate, the war is criminal, Crimea is Ukrainian' must become a part of this fight. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Kasparov said he and other dissidents are working on formulating a path forward for the Russian opposition. We need to create a matrix of a free Russia outside of Russia today, what we call half-jokingly a virtual Taiwan.
The Russian opposition, however, is notoriously fragmented and Navalny's team has in the past clashed with Kasparov.
Fresh disagreements emerged among Kremlin critics in recent weeks over how to register protest in this weekend's presidential election, which Putin is sure to win without any real opponents allowed on the ballot and election officials under his thumb.
Kasparov urged Western countries to welcome anti-war Russians, including programmers and engineers involved in the making of drones and other weapons.
Give them a chance to leave, give them a chance to switch to the other side, Kasparov said. I think this would sharply undermine Putin's ability to wage war.
- 'Devastating consequences'? -
Kasparov expressed frustration with the West's reluctance to fully back Ukraine's war against the Russian invasion, now in its third year. Kyiv has been struggling on the battlefield with crucial aid military delayed in the US Congress.
Kasparov said Western sanctions imposed on Russia have achieved little and called on more funding for Ukraine, including from confiscated Russian assets, and long-range missiles.
President Joe Biden promised devastating consequences. And where are those devastating consequences? Kasparov asked.
Unfortunately, the West is lagging behind, and any weakness demonstrated by the West is an invitation to Putin for more aggression.
Kasparov spoke to AFP on the sidelines of a gathering in Washington of the World Liberty Congress, a coalition of pro-democracy activists from 60 countries.
We believe that from Russia to Venezuela, to China to Africa, all the authoritarian regimes and dictators are working together... voting for each other at the United Nations, said US-based Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad.
The bad guys are united, Alinejad, who heads the organization, said at a joint press conference. The time has come for the good people from authoritarian regimes to be united as well to expand our ideology, which is democracy, dignity, and freedom.
Formed last year, the World Liberty Congress espouses non-violent protest, provides support to grassroots activists in home countries as well as political prisoners and their families.