Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Kremlin on Wednesday for talks focused on rebuilding Syria. After a devastating civil war and efforts to stabilize the region.
Welcoming Assad at the start of the meeting, which was held on the 12th anniversary of the Syrian uprising that turned into a civil war, Putin emphasized the “decisive contribution” of the Russian military to stabilizing the country.
Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, cooperating with Iran to allow the Assad government to fight armed opposition groups and regain control of most of the country. While Russia now concentrates the bulk of its military resources in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained its military foothold in Syria and kept warplanes and troops stationed there.
Al-Assad thanked Putin for his support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, noting that the Kremlin’s support remained strong despite the fighting in Ukraine.
“Although Russia is now also conducting the special operation, its position has not changed,” al-Assad said, using the Kremlin’s term “special military operation” to refer to Russia’s action in Ukraine, and expressing his support for Moscow’s efforts.
The two rounds of talks between the two leaders, the first involving senior officials from the two countries and then a one-on-one meeting over lunch, lasted more than three hours. The Russian and Syrian defense ministers also met separately to discuss military cooperation.
Assad’s office said on Twitter that the two leaders discussed “joint cooperation in various forms and developments on the regional and international arenas”. It noted that al-Assad “renewed Syria’s position in support of Russia’s right to defend its national security.”
Moscow has provided strong political support for Assad at the United Nations and has actively brokered to help mend his government’s relations with regional powers.
Some Arab countries that had in the past called for Assad’s ouster sent aid in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake of February 6th. That hit Turkey and Syria killing more than 50,000 including more than 6,000 in Syria.
International sympathy in the aftermath of the earthquake appears to have accelerated regional convergence, With some calling for dialogue with Syria and returning the country to membership in the 22-nation Arab League after more than a decade of suspending its membership due to the crackdown in the first months of the uprising that turned into war.
As part of the ongoing rapprochement, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan recently made their first visits to Damascus since the conflict began in March 2011 and met with Assad.
On Wednesday, Assad also thanked Putin for sending rescue teams and engaging its Syria-based military in carrying out rescue efforts and helping deal with the aftermath of the earthquake.
before the earthquakeRussia was mediating the talks between Turkey and Syria.
Turkey has supported armed opposition groups in Syria that have sought to overthrow Assad’s government during the civil war that has killed nearly 500,000 people and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population. Syria demanded that Turkey withdraw from the enclave it controls in northwestern Syria, in order for Damascus to normalize its relations with Ankara.
In December, Moscow hosted surprise talks between the Syrian and Turkish defense ministers. Arab media reported that one of the main topics that Assad and Putin will discuss during their meeting on Wednesday is reconciliation between Syria and Turkey.
In response to a question before Putin’s talks with Assad whether they could play a role in restoring Syrian relations with Turkey, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied that “the issue of Syrian-Turkish relations will undoubtedly be part of the agenda of the talks.”
Although Turkey has supported Syrian opposition fighters in the north, Ankara and Damascus share resentment of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria. Turkey-backed opposition fighters have clashed with the SDF in the past, accusing it of being an arm of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has been waging a decades-old insurgency inside Turkey against the government in Ankara.
The Assad government has described the SDF as a separatist force that has been stealing the country’s wealth while controlling Syria’s major oil fields.
Assad’s office said in a statement after the talks that Putin and Assad talked about “regional initiatives supported by Moscow”. Al-Assad stressed that Syria supports dialogue “if it leads to the realization of the interests of the Syrian people, the unity and integrity of the Syrian lands, and leads to clear results, the first of which is the continuation of the fight against terrorism and the exit. of the illegal foreign forces present on its territory.” The statement did not go into details.
Syrian, Turkish and Russian deputy foreign ministers and a senior Iranian envoy were expected to hold talks on Wednesday and Thursday in Moscow to discuss “counter-terrorism efforts” in Syria, though Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Soussan was quoted as saying by pro-government media. The meeting is “still under discussion”.
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Narrated on behalf of Marwa from Beirut.