Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, to become a mediator in the negotiations with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that seized power in Syria, Novaya Gazeta Europe's source reports.
According to these reports, Kadyrov was promised control of the country's largest market, Wildberries, if he managed to convince the Islamists to preserve the Khmeimim air base and the Tartus sea port for Russia. and the head of Chechnya "received Putin's full support in this matter".
"Now Moscow urgently needs to solve the problem related to the Syrian military bases, and if Kadyrov succeeds, no Wildberries will be spared for this," the source emphasized.
To compensate for the "moral damage" from the conflict over the "bonus" market, Chechnya's leader has asked for a stake in the gold mining business of Dagestan senator Suleiman Kerimov, who is said to be a beneficiary of Wildberries' merger deal with outdoor advertising firm Russ Outdoor.
According to the source, Kadyrov was promised to consider these claims as well. There is no official confirmation of Putin's meeting with the head of Chechnya. Kadyrov wrote on his channel that he visited the Kremlin on December 9 as a participant in the ceremony to award the heroes of Russia with "Golden Star" medals. At the same time, he stayed in Moscow for a week.
