Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, is reportedly unable to fulfill a promise he made to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Axar.az, citing Russian Telegram channels, reports that Kadyrov had guaranteed that he would reach an agreement with Syria’s new authorities to maintain Russia’s military presence in the country. However, no progress has been made since then, and Russia’s position in the negotiations has reportedly deteriorated.

It was also noted that Germany and France’s foreign ministers have already visited Syria, and even Ukraine’s foreign minister has managed to fly to Damascus:

“There is complicated informal communication. We are now receiving signals that we may have to almost completely withdraw from Syria. Meanwhile, Erdoğan is deeply involved in legitimizing Syria’s new authorities.”

The report states that Vladimir Putin has searched for other intermediaries to negotiate with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but has yet to find anyone more suitable than Kadyrov.