Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted Syria’s Bashar Assad for a meeting amid rising tension in the Middle East.
Putin told Assad he was concerned about the situation in the region but neither country provided further details on their talks.
Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Assad’s government against opposition groups.
While Russia now concentrates the bulk of its military resources in Ukraine, it has maintained a military foothold in Syria and keeps troops at its bases there.
“I am very interested in your opinion on how the situation in the region as a whole is developing,” Putin said to Assad. “Unfortunately, there is a tendency toward escalation, we can see that. This also applies directly to Syria.”
The Kremlin said Putin and Assad’s meeting took place Wednesday.
Putin and Assad last met in March 2023 in the Kremlin on the anniversary of Syria’s 12-year uprising-turned-civil war. At that meeting, Putin emphasized the Russian military’s role in stabilizing the country.
“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 via a Russian translator.
The Kremlin did not provide details on Putin and Assad’s talks but one potential point of discussion was reportedly around Syria and Türkiye relations.
Russia is one of the strongest backers of Assad but also has close ties with Türkiye and has been pushing for a reset.
Türkiye cut ties with Syria in 2011 over the brutal crackdown on mass anti-government protests that spiraled into the still-ongoing civil war.
Türkiye supports Syrian opposition groups seeking to overthrow Assad and still maintains forces in the opposition-held northwest.
In December 2022, the Turkish, Syrian and Russian defense ministers held talks in Moscow, the first ministerial-level meeting between Türkiye and Syria since 2011. Russia also brokered meetings between Syrian and Turkish officials last year.
The Kremlin on Thursday added that the meeting also discussed a “possible” meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Erdoğan and Assad.
Both leaders had recently signaled likely discussions on the re-evaluation of diplomatic ties.
