Putin's right-hand man speaks out with a hidden threat to Russia’s neighbors. “Chaos” could soon break out among Russia's neighbors in the Caucasus, he threatened.
The West has an interest in instability in the region, Patrushev said. The threat is fueling concerns that the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could actually spread to the Caucasus. The intelligence chief also repeated the Kremlin narrative of a NATO proxy war against Russia. He is considered a close confidante of Putin and isalso considered his likely successor in the Kremlin.