CHECHEN PRESIDENT REACHES OUT TO THE MIDDLE EAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 005734

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y ((CORRECT COLLECTIVE ADDEES))

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER SOCI JO SA RS
SUBJECT: CHECHEN PRESIDENT REACHES OUT TO THE MIDDLE EAST

REF: MOSCOW 5681

MOSCOW 00005734 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells for reasons 1.4(b/d).


1. (C) Summary: Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is looking
to the Middle East to finance the reconstruction of Chechnya.
Kadyrov met recently in Moscow with the visiting Saudi Crown
Prince and traveled to Saudi Arabia and Jordan earlier this
year. Kadyrov plans to visit Mecca in December, part of an
effort to gain legitimacy as a Muslim leader. The Chechen's
outreach to the Middle East is made with official Russian
support, although analysts believe there are divisions within
the GOR as to whether Arab funding could end up supporting
extremists in the Caucuses. In the end, however, the GOR
appears confident that it has more to gain by allowing
Kadyrov to reach out to the Muslim world. End summary.

Kadyrov Meets Saudi and Jordanian Monarchs
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2. (U) President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov met Saudi Crown
Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud during the Saudi
Prince's November 21-23 trip to Moscow. According to press
reports, they discussed possible Saudi financial support for
Chechen reconstruction and assistance for Chechens traveling
to Mecca. Kadyrov also announced that he planned to visit
Saudi Arabia in December, when he would make his first Haj to
Mecca.


3. (U) Kadyrov last visited Saudi Arabia in August, when he
was treated as an official visitor, met Saudi King Abdallah,
and took part in well-publicized expressions of his Muslim
faith. Kadyrov also met the head of the Islamic Development
Bank, who promised to send representatives to Chechnya to
identify possible assistance projects. From Saudi Arabia,
Kadyrov went to Jordan, where he was received by King
Abdullah. The Jordanian King reportedly pledged to assist
Chechen reconstruction and accepted an invitation to visit
Chechnya. Kadyrov's Middle Eastern visits have become more
frequent since he first went to Saudi Arabia in 2004,
reportedly seeking a pledge from Saudi officials to sever
suspected links between Saudi charitable organizations and
rebel fighters in Chechnya.


4. (C) Russian and Jordanian diplomats told us that while in
Jordan, Kadyrov sought the support of the country's
considerable Chechen diaspora, whose ancestors fled the
Caucasus in the 19th century. Jordanian Counselor Hasan
Saraireh understood that Kadyrov had not received any
concrete pledges of support and would likely return to Jordan
to continue his efforts. Saraireh said that Jordan rolled
out the red carpet for Kadyrov as a signal to Moscow that it
wanted to improve bilateral ties and, hopefully, attract
Russian investment.

Kadyrov Acts With Russian Support
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5. (C) MFA Counselor Rashid Ismailov told us Kadyrov did not
represent the GOR when going abroad, although his travel is
coordinated with the MFA. During Kadyrov's August trip to
Saudi Arabia, he was an emissary of sorts for the GOR and
presented Saudi King Abdallah with a personal message from
Putin. Ismailov explained that assisting the Chechen
President demonstrated to Muslims, both foreign and domestic,
that the GOR supported Kadyrov and his effort to rebuild
Chechnya. Ismailov believed that the Saudis hoped their
embrace of Kadyrov would foster better relations with Russia
(reftel).

Kadyrov is "Putin's Guy"
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6. (C) Analysts told us that they understood the Kremlin
supported Kadyrov's outreach to the Middle East, but were
divided as to whether Russian security services thought
increased Arab influence in the Caucasus presented a threat.


7. (C) Middle East expert Georgiy Mirsky explained that the
GOR strongly supported Kadyrov, who became "Putin's guy"
thanks to his ability to lift the "Chechen albatross" from
the Russian President's neck. However, this support did not
necessarily translate into GOR funding of Chechen
reconstruction, which led Kadyrov to seek support from the
Middle East. Mirsky said the GOR, including the security
services, understood Kadyrov's efforts could result in the
presence of Saudi-funded mosques in Chechnya. Furthermore,
the GOR knew Kadyrov would be welcomed by the Saudis, who
wanted to demonstrate support for "official" Muslim leaders
in the Caucuses in order to distance themselves from charges
of funding terrorists.


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8. (C) Moscow Carnegie Center analyst Aleksey Malashenko
argued that there existed a real division within the GOR on
Kadyrov's outreach to the Middle East. The Kremlin supported
Kadyrov, who was able to deliver a level of security in
Chechnya, while the FSB feared his efforts would lead to
increased Wahabbi and, possibly, extremist Islam in the
Caucuses. Malashenko also claimed that the FSB feared
Kadyrov would use Arab financial support to increase his
political independence from Moscow.

Chechnya Will Not Welcome Saudi Wahabbism
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9. (C) Ruslan Kurbanov, an expert on the Caucasus and Russian
Muslims and political affairs editor of the bi-weekly
magazine "Smisl," saw more subtle divisions within the GOR,
which generally supported the "Kadyrov project" to stabilize
Chechnya. Only certain elements within the FSB that did not
understand Russia's Muslim population feared Saudi funding
could lead to Wahabbi influence, while others understood the
predominantly Sufi Caucasus would not welcome Wahabbism.
Kurbanov explained that the official religious departments in
the Caucasus worked closely with the FSB to keep the region
free of extremist influence, and even different forms of
Islam. As for Kadyrov's attempts to portray himself as a
genuine Muslim while in Saudi Arabia, Kurbanov said this did
not win over practicing Muslims who thought it an "insult" to
see the very man who had oppressed "real" Muslims pretending
to be one of them.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) While the level of official Russian backing for
Kadyrov's Middle East exploits may be debatable, the Kremlin
clearly does not detect a threat from some level of official
Arab influence in the Caucasus. By allowing Kadyrov to turn
to Muslim countries for assistance, the GOR can claim credit
for putting a "real" Muslim in charge of Chechnya.
BURNS