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Putin Pays Visit To Syrian President Assad
This appeared in The Millennial Source
On January 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Syria’s capital, Damascus, to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This unannounced visit was only Putin’s second trip to Syria since its protracted civil war began nearly nine years ago.
Putin and Assad are allies, and the Russian military has supported Assad’s Ba’athist Syrian Arab Republic forces throughout Syria’s civil war.
A recent withdrawal of US troops from the area is considered advantageous to Putin and Assad’s goals for the region.
What happened during Putin’s visit to Syria?
During Putin’s first visit to Damascus, the Russian and Syrian presidents were given a presentation by the head of Russia’s military forces in the country. Putin also met with members of his country’s fighting forces as they celebrated Orthodox Christmas (which falls on January 7) abroad. Russia first sent troops to Syria in support of the Assad regime in 2015, four years after Syria’s civil war began in March 2011.
The last time the two leaders met was in May 2018 at Putin’s summer residence in Russia.
