President Vladimir Putin met with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Moscow to discuss what the Russian leader described as a continued “escalation” in the Middle East, according to state media reports on Tuesday.
The meeting, held late Wednesday, comes at a time when Russia — which saved Assad’s government through its military intervention in 2015 during the Syrian civil war — seeks to mediate tensions between Syria and Turkey.
A video published by the Kremlin showed Putin greeting Assad with a handshake in the Kremlin, after which the two leaders sat down before cameras to discuss the situation in Syria and the broader Middle East.
“Of course, I am very interested in your opinion on how the situation in the region as a whole is developing,” Putin told Assad. “Unfortunately, it tends to worsen, we can see that. This also applies to Syria directly.” This meeting marked the first time Putin and Assad met since March of last year. It comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested the possibility of a three-way meeting to try and normalize ties between Ankara and Damascus.
“Now, we have come to such a point that, as soon as Bashar al-Assad takes a step toward improving relations with Turkey, we will show him the same approach,” Erdogan said earlier.
Turkey initially aimed to topple Assad’s regime when the conflict in Syria erupted, leading to the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2011, followed by a rebellion calling for his ouster.
However, Ankara’s focus has shifted in recent years to preventing what Erdogan in 2019 termed a “terror corridor” from opening up in northern Syria.
Erdogan has expressed that he might reconsider ties with Assad, as his government works to ensure the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched a series of offensives in Syria, targeting Kurdish militias, Islamic State group jihadists, and forces loyal to Assad.
Currently, pro-Turkish forces in Syria control two significant strips of territory along the border.
