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.
