Putin Hosts Assad for Talks in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Kremlin, according to video footage released by the Kremlin press service on Thursday.

During their meeting, Putin expressed concern about escalating tensions in the Middle East but did not provide specific details about their discussions. Since September 2015, Russia has supported Assad’s regime through a military campaign, working alongside Iran to help Assad reclaim control over most of Syria from armed opposition groups. Despite shifting the majority of its military focus to Ukraine, Russia continues to maintain a significant military presence in Syria.

“I am very interested in your perspective on the developments in the region,” Putin said to Assad. “Unfortunately, there is a trend towards escalation, which we can clearly observe, including in Syria.”

The Kremlin stated that the meeting took place on Wednesday.

The last time Putin and Assad met was in March 2023 at the Kremlin, marking the anniversary of Syria’s 12-year conflict. During that meeting, Putin highlighted the role of the Russian military in stabilizing Syria.

“Given all the global and regional events happening today, our meeting is very significant,” Assad told Putin through a Russian translator.

While the Kremlin did not provide specific details on the content of their talks, one possible topic was the restoration of diplomatic relations between Russia and Turkey.

Russia, a staunch supporter of Assad’s government, also maintains close relations with Turkey and has been advocating for the normalization of ties between Turkey and Syria.

Turkey severed diplomatic relations with Syria in 2011 following mass anti-government protests and a harsh crackdown by Syrian security forces, which led to the ongoing civil war. Turkey has supported Syrian insurgent groups aiming to overthrow Assad and still has military forces in the opposition-held northwest, a point of contention for Damascus.

In December 2022, defense ministers from Turkey, Syria, and Russia met in Moscow, marking the first ministerial-level talks between Turkey and Syria since 2011. Russia has also facilitated meetings between Syrian and Turkish officials over the past year.

Recently, both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Assad have indicated an interest in restoring diplomatic ties.

A Turkish newspaper reported last week that Erdogan would meet with Assad in Moscow in August. However, Turkish officials denied this report, stating it was not accurate.

Earlier this month, Erdogan invited Assad to visit Turkey or meet in a third country. Speaking on July 15, Assad said that for relations to normalize, Turkey would need to withdraw its troops from northern Syria and cease supporting insurgent groups that Damascus labels as “terrorists.”