Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been banned from entering Latvia, said the Baltic state’s parliament decision is a move to pander to the West.
Kadyrov has instead invited all Latvian citizens to visit Chechnya. "Well, if Latvia announces sanctions, we like people educated based on traditions and values, and invite all Latvians to visit Chechnya," he wrote on Telegram.
"I know that the Saeima made the decision on the sanctions not for the sake of the Latvian people’s interests but due to its wish to please the "Elephant." So, what else should the Pug do?" Kadyrov said, referring to a famous fable by Russian poet Ivan Krylov.
The Chechen leader joked that visiting Latvia was his lifetime dream. "Day and night, at work and at home I dreamt of visiting Riga. Just when I was able to make two or three days available for this, Latvia’s Saeima says that it banned me from entering. I’m so disappointed I cannot even sit still," TASS cited him as saying.
Earlier reports said Latvia’s Foreign Ministry banned entry for 49 foreigners on the so-called Magnitsky List, including Kadyrov.
