I suspect Saudi backing. Wasn't so long ago that Bandar Bush Prince Bandar said:
“I give you the guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. Chechen groups, which threaten the security of the games, are controlled by us, and they do nothing without consulting us.”
The Saudi intelligence chief boasted that the Chechens, who rage in Syria, are a pressure medium, which can be deactivated or activated – just as he needs it. Bandar said further: “These groups do not scare us. We use them against the Syrian regime, but they will play no role in the political future of Syria.”
The conversation between Putin and Bandar was very heated, filled with warnings about a “dramatic change” in Syria. Putin, however, was unmoved by the Saudi offer and the threat – he was not dissuaded from his existing opinion.
Putin responded by saying:
“We know that you support the Chechen terrorist for decades. And the support, of which you just spoke openly, is completely incompatible with the common goal of fighting global terrorism. We are interested to develop friendly relations after clear and strong principles.”
“Our point in terms of Assad will never change. We believe the Syrian government is the best representative of the Syrian people and not these liver-eaters.”
That is what Putin said, and he referred to the horrific photographs that show the moment when the terrorists (in Syria) tear out and eat the heart and liver of a Syrian soldier.
www.syrianews.cc/saudi-arabia-threatens-russia-olympic-terror/