GROZNY , Russia, March 26 (UPI) -- The Russian republic of Chechnya offered to send arms to Mexico, a response to a U.S. House measure encouraging shipment of U.S. weapons to Ukraine.

Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov, the Chechen parliament speaker, said the United States has "no right" to advise Russia on behavior with neighbors, a reference to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. He warned that the shipment of "lethal aid" to Ukraine, as the U.S. House urged earlier this week in a non-binding resolution which passed by 358 votes to 48, could lead to Chechen shipment of weapons to Mexico to "resume debate on the legal status of territories annexed by the U.S."


The annexed territories include seven western U.S. states ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago, which ended a war between Mexico and the United States in 1848. The deal included a U.S. payment of $15 million to Mexico, as well as payment of a $3.25 million Mexican debt to U.S. citizens. Additional territory was purchased from Mexico in 1853 for $10 million.

In 1917, the German Empire sent a diplomatic proposal of a similar nature to Mexico. The Zimmerman Telegram, as the proposal is known, offered German military and economic aid to help Mexico "reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The telegram was intercepted by British intelligence and repudiated by the Mexican government. The action by the U.S. House was strictly advisory in nature, urging President Barack Obama to send weapons to the Ukrainian military. It was condemned by Russian legislator Alexey Pushkov, chairman of the State Duma (Parliament) International Affairs Committee.

"The most dangerous thing is that it's absolutely irresponsible. Of course, the decision is to be made by Obama since the resolution is non-binding. But this irresponsibility is amazing considering the price the United States had to pay for its direct or indirect involvement in armed conflicts abroad and what price was paid by countries, from Vietnam to Iraq, where military conflicts involved the United States," Pushkov said. "Their perception is based on the assumption that the U.S. and its allies should always emerge victorious. In reality, the U.S. has suffered numerous defeats and this policy is too doomed to failure."