The unannounced visit to Turkey of the chief of the Russian National Guard — an internal security establishment also known as Vladimir Putin’s personal army — will undoubtedly be given hard scrutiny by Western capitals amid increasing criticism of Turkey’s drift away from its NATO allies.

Viktor Zolotov, the head of the Russian National Guard, Rosgvardiya, a security unit that oversees anti-riot police and SWAT teams, paid a surprise visit to the capital, Ankara, from May 13-18 with a “heavily loaded” agenda, Turkish security sources told Al-Monitor. Although his Russian delegation's carefully crafted schedule didn't include any direct contact with the Turkish army, NATO's second largest, the visit heralds further military cooperation between Russia and Turkey.

The delegation of 11 officials led by Zolotov held talks with several Turkish security officials, the sources told Al-Monitor.

Zolotov, whose special force of 200,000 provides policing and military capabilities, is an influential name when it comes to Russia’s security policies. As a close friend of Putin, Zolotov recently made headlines in Russia by ridiculing the country’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny by challenging him to a duel.