Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that there was no hostility between him and slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday.
"These accusations are absurd, Nemtsov never bothered me. There was never any personal animosity or dislike between us," Kadyrov told Interfax in an interview.
Kadyrov does not exclude that Nemtsov "could become a victim of an insidious plan aimed at undermining the situation in the country."
"There is no way that the government at any level could have had a hand in his death," the Chechen leader added.
He also said that he had repeatedly spoken out on the issue of Nemtsov's murder.
"Whatever I say, a negative reaction will follow from those who call themselves the opposition," Kadyrov noted, Interfax reported.