A video clip showing Russian President Vladimir Putin kissing a copy of the Quran has gone viral on social media.
Putin made this gesture as he visited the newly constructed Prophet Jesus Mosque in the Chechen capital Grozny.
He was accompanied by the controversial leader of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, who has played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In the video, Putin can be seen presented with a gold-encrusted copy of the Quran, before kissing it and holding it up, while Kadyrov stands next to him.
The Russian leader made his first trip to Chechnya in almost 13 years on Tuesday, amid setbacks in the war on Ukraine, with Ukrainian forces continuing their incursion into Russian territory around the Kursk area.
He was reportedly there to encourage Chechen enlistment in the Russian armed forces as the war in Ukraine continues to drag on.
The Russian leader visited a special forces academy where soldiers were being trained prior to deployment to Ukraine, and praised Chechen volunteers, saying that as long as Russia had men like them it was "invincible".
"We have been waiting for you for 13 years. And I know that you have a lot of problems, issues that you manually manage, including our republic," Kadyrov told Putin while welcoming him.
Kadyrov has headed a pro-Russian administration in Chechnya since 2007. The republic had formerly tried to break away from Russian control, leading to two devastating wars in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Kadyrov has ruled it with an iron fist under Russian tutelage, suppressing dissent and human rights as well as the separatist movement and leading Chechen fighters into Ukraine to fight for Russia.
Pro-independence Chechen fighters are believed to be fighting for Ukraine against Russia.
Putin’s gesture towards the Quran is the latest in a series of moves designed to appeal to Muslims.
Following a series of Quran burnings in European countries and an attempt to do the same in Russia, Putin said that anyone trying to burn the Quran on Russian territory would face imprisonment and trial in the country’s Muslim-majority areas.