Grinning Syrian monster Bashar Assad meets Putin to discuss war

Grinning Syrian monster Bashar Assad has met fellow tyrant Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin to discuss the war in the Middle East. The dictators met on Wednesday, according to the Kremlin, after their last meeting in March 2023 on the anniversary of Syria’s 12-year uprising-turned-civil war.

Footage published by the Russian press service shows the Russian president saying to Assad (pictured left): ‘I am very interested in your opinion on how the situation in the region as a whole is developing. Unfortunately, there is a tendency towards escalation, we can see that. This also applies directly to Syria.’

Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Assad’s government to fight armed opposition groups and reclaim control over most of the country. At their meeting in 2023, Putin emphasised the Russian military’s role in stabilising Syria.

While Moscow now concentrates the bulk of its military resources in Ukraine, it has maintained a foothold in Syria and keeps troops at bases there. 

‘Considering all the events that are taking place in the world as a whole and in the Eurasian region today, our meeting today seems very important,’ Assad told Putin through a Russian translator.

The Kremlin did not provide details on Putin and Assad’s talks but one potential point of discussion was around Russia and Turkey restoring diplomatic relations. Russia is one of the strongest backers of Assad’s government but also has close ties with Turkey and has been pushing for a return to restart relations.

Turkey and Syria cut their ties in 2011 as mass anti-government protests and a brutal crackdown by security forces in Syria spiraled into the still-ongoing civil war. Turkey backed Syrian insurgent groups seeking to overthrow Assad and still maintains forces in the opposition-held northwest, angering Damascus.

In December 2022, the Turkish, Syrian and Russian defense ministers held talks in Moscow, the first ministerial-level meeting between Turkey and Syria since 2011. Russia also brokered meetings between Syrian and Turkish officials last year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pictured) and Assad recently signaled they are interested in restoring diplomatic ties. Last week, a Turkish newspaper reported that Erdogan would meet with Assad in Moscow in August, but Turkish officials denied the report, saying it did ‘not reflect the truth.’

Earlier this month, Erdogan said he had called on Assad to visit Turkey or to meet in a third country. Speaking to reporters on July 15, Assad said that in order for relations to return to normal Turkey would have to withdraw its troops from northern Syria and stop backing insurgent groups that Damascus describes as ‘terrorists.’

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