Is the Chechen 'bogeyman' heading to Syria?
Russia is playing up similarities between its past struggles and Syria’s civil war.
Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov thinks Syria could take a page from Russia’s modern history playbook for resolving conflicts.
Kadyrov met Nov. 15 in Grozny, Chechnya, with Syrian “internal opposition groups." The gathering included members of the Syrian parliament, and political, religious and public figures that make up the National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change. Kadyrov, who posted information from the meeting on his Instagram account, said he empathizes with Syrians regarding their country’s crisis and linked it to what Russia has experienced in its recent history.
“We’ve known exactly the same things Syria is now going through — killings, destruction and refugees. That is why we share your hardship,” he said. “There were terrorists from about 51 countries fighting Russia in Chechnya back in the day, and no country assisted Russia in that struggle.”
Syrian delegates, for their part, said they came to Chechnya to see with their own eyes “how the goal of defeating international terrorism and restoration of the republic were achieved.”
