UPDATE 1-Russia summons German envoy over lawmaker's meeting with Chechen exile

Russia's foreign ministry said ​on Monday it had ​summoned the German ambassador ‌over a meeting ​in Kyiv between a German lawmaker and a Chechen separatist who Moscow says leads ‌a "terrorist" organisation.

Russia said it had lodged a complaint with German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff over what it said were talks between Bundestag deputy Roderich Kiesewetter ‌and Akhmed Zakayev, whom Moscow says leads the outlawed "Chechen Republic of ‌Ichkeria". The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria won de facto independence from Moscow after the first Chechen War in the mid-1990s, but its leadership later went into exile.

Ichkeria is ⁠the ​historical name for ⁠Russia's southern region of Chechnya, which was devastated by two bloody wars between Russian ⁠troops and Chechen separatists following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. Russia designates Ichkeria ​as a terrorist organisation and treats any related structures or representatives ⁠as outlawed.

"A strong protest has been expressed with the ambassador regarding the recent ⁠meeting ​in Kyiv," the foreign ministry said, adding that Moscow viewed the contacts as interference in Russia's internal affairs and warned Berlin of "negative consequences" ⁠for actions it described as hostile. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office ⁠in Berlin ⁠called the allegations "completely unfounded and baseless".

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