MOSCOW, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Chechnya's president says he wants to see a luxury ski resort built in the Argun Gorge, a scenic and historic area on the Russian-Georgian border.
President Ramzan Kadyron visited the gorge early this month with two companions, Ruslan Baysarov, a businessman, and film director Fyodor Bondarchuk, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday. Alvi Karimov, the president's press secretary, told Moskovsky Kosomolets that Kadyron has found businessmen interested in investing in a resort there.
The gorge created by the Argun River was a traditional route through Chechnya to Georgia. In more recent years, the area has been a stronghold of militants fighting for Chechen independence.
Karimov said the journey was a difficult one, requiring Kadyron to make the last part of the trip on foot. Kadyron's previous visits to the area had been for military reasons, his secretary said.
"Finally, he reached the border with Georgia and was amazed by the beauty of the area," Karimov told the newspaper.
