Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin met, what happened?

Russia is one of Syria’s few allies to support it during the years-long war, and Moscow is now helping to end Bashar al-Assad’s international isolation.

The meeting between the two leaders took place on the occasion of the twelfth anniversary of the uprising in Syria, which led to a series of civil wars in the country. Putin is one of the staunchest supporters of the Syrian leader’s support against rebels trying to topple the Assad regime.

Putin cited the Russian military’s “decisive contribution” to stabilizing Syria, which helped the Assad regime fight opposition groups and control large swathes of the country.

Putin has intervened in the Syrian conflict through airstrikes and by deploying Russian troops to support government forces. About five lakh people were killed in this conflict. With this support and the help of another important ally of Assad, Iran, Damascus was able to retake many of the areas it had lost in the early stages of the war.

Assad thanked Putin for his support for the Syrian army. He also referred to the term “special operations” used by the Kremlin to refer to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Bashar al-Assad said, “Although Russia is also taking special action, its position has not changed.”

Assad’s office later said in a series of tweets that the two leaders discussed “joint cooperation for development in various forums as well as regional and international arenas”.

Bashar al-Assad has been isolated from the region and much of the world since the start of the conflict. But after deadly earthquakes in northern parts of Syria and southern Turkey, they have stepped up efforts to put their country back on the international stage.

Assad’s neighbor Turkey backs armed opposition groups that control large parts of northwestern Syria. But analysts say Moscow is trying to bridge the gap and focus on joint “hostile” Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

In December, Moscow surprised everyone by hosting talks between the Syrian and Turkish defense ministers. The Syrian, Turkish and Russian deputy foreign ministers, as well as a top adviser to their Iranian counterpart, are meeting in Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss counter-terrorism measures in Syria.