Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has denied reports he was behind an alleged plot to kill a Georgian journalist.
Local media say a Russian man detained by Georgian state security on Monday was sent to murder television presenter Giorgi Gabunia on Mr Kaydrov’s orders.
The journalist sparked a major row last year when he crudely insulted Russian leader Vladimir Putin live on air.
But Mr Kadyrov said that while Mr Gabunia was his “enemy”, he did not organise his murder.
“Trust me, if someone is acting on my orders, he will carry them out,” he wrote on the messaging app Telegram (in Russian).
“Giorgi Gabunia had better go down on his knees and ask for forgiveness… Otherwise, he will, I repeat, remain my enemy,” he added.
Details of the alleged murder plot first emerged on Monday, but the story dates back to July last year, when presenter Giorgi Gabunia sparked a row between Russia and Georgia.