Vladimir Putin and Syria's President Assad meet in Moscow for first time since 2015 - Sky News

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has met Vladimir Putin in Moscow - their first meeting in the Russian capital since 2015.

Mr Putin congratulated his counterpart on winning May's presidential election, according to the Kremlin.

The election - in which Mr Assad is said to have won 95% of the vote - was dismissed as a sham by most Western countries.

Image: It was their first meeting in the Russian capital for six years. Pic: AP

Mr Putin also used Monday's meeting to praise President Assad's renewed grip on the country after a decade of fighting.

The Kremlin quoting him as saying: "Terrorists had sustained a very serious damage, and Syrian government, headed by you, controls 90% of the territories."

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However, he reportedly warned that foreign forces being deployed in Syria without a decision by the UN were a hindrance to its consolidation.

The meeting between the two leaders was their first since a summit in Syrian capital Damascus in January 2020.

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Image: Russia forces, such as this military police officer, remain in parts of Syria

President Assad also thanked Mr Putin for sending aid to Syria and efforts to halt the "spread of terrorism", the Kremlin said.

He praised what he called the success of Russian and Syrian armies in "liberating occupied territories" of his country and described Western sanctions as "antihuman" and "illegitimate".

Syrian state television said the leaders were later joined by Syria's foreign minister and Russia's defence minister for discussions on fighting terrorism and mutual relations.

Image: Deraa al Balaad in September 2021: Much of Syria has been devastated by the war

Hundreds of thousands have died in Syria's war - which started in 2011 after peaceful protests sparked by the Arab Spring, while millions have fled the country or been internally displaced.

Support from Russia has helped President Assad regain nearly all the territory lost during the conflict.

Hundreds of its troops remain in Syria and opposition activists say Russian jets have recently been carrying out strikes in Idlib province, that last major rebel area.

While the COVID crisis has helped push the conflict out of the headlines, the situation remains bleak with fighting still going on in some areas, food insecurity and a ruined economy.

The UN said this month that 13.4 million Syrians still needed help and urged the need for greater humanitarian access.

Analysis by Alistair Bunkall, Middle East correspondent

Bashar al Assad has made few trips abroad during the decade long conflict in his country, no doubt fearful of what might happen in his absence, but a visit to Moscow is a visit to an ally and comes with little risk.

Without President Putin's support, Assad would have almost certainly lost the Syrian war and been deposed from power.

The Syrian dictator has backing from Iran too, but it was Moscow's intervention in 2015 which helped turn the conflict back in Assad's favour, although there remain pockets of resistance.

Russian fighter jets continue to bomb rebel positions and at times in recent years they came close to US, British and French aircraft operating against Islamic State in the same area.

Putin's support hasn’t come for free though. Russia now has a Mediterranean naval port at Tartus and an airbase outside Latakia – both vital strategic hubs for the Kremlin, easing the dependence on the Black Sea fleet.

It's unclear what Putin actually makes of the Syrian dictator, it's been said he doesn't have much respect for the former eye-surgeon, but the Assad family has ruled Syria for decades and with the lack of any credible cabinet or opposition, the Russian president has few alternatives than the devil he knows.

Either way, both men have done rather well out of the relationship.

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2021-09-14 06:56:15Z
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