[Salon] Putin-Assad Meeting in Moscow

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

 

 

Putin-Assad Meeting in Moscow

Details of the Visit

• On Wednesday, July 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow to discuss key issues across the region.
• Putin reportedly asked Assad his opinion on the state of regional affairs, expressing concerns over the “tendency towards escalation” and potential effects on Syria. 
• When asked about the topics discussed in the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remained vague, stating that there was a broad exchange of views on “all topics related to the situation in the region around Syria.” Neither Assad nor Putin have directly addressed the topics of conversation in their televised remarks.
• It is likely that a key topic discussed was the effort to restore Turkish-Syrian relations.
• Putin and Assad last met in March 2023 on the 12th anniversary of the Syrian uprising.  
• Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Russia has been a key supporter of the Assad government. While Russian support began with political and diplomatic backing, it escalated to formal military intervention in September 2015 with airstrikes against armed groups seeking to overthrow the regime.

Russia is a Mediator for Turkish-Syrian Relations

• The Putin-Assad meeting comes amid ongoing efforts to reopen dialogues between Damascus and Ankara.
• In 2011, Turkey severed ties with Syria in support of rebel groups seeking to oust Assad. As the government made territorial gains in 2019, Turkey shifted its efforts to secure its southern border with Syria and Iraq, an area used by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). 
• Turkey considers the SDF an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party and deems it a top national security threat. 
• After President Erdogan formally renounced his nation’s goal of ousting Assad, top Turkish and Syrian officials first met in Moscow in December 2022. 
• Since then, Russia has acted as a mediator, hosting representatives from both nations on multiple occasions. However, talks have repeatedly stalled due to Syrian demands for a complete Turkish military withdrawal from the country. 
• Over the past weeks, both Assad and Erdogan have expressed their willingness to reopen dialogues under Russian mediation.
• In June, Assad told Russia’s Syria envoy that “Syria has welcomed” all reconciliation initiatives as long as they respect the country’s sovereignty. 
• On July 3, Erdogan and Putin met privately during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Erdogan told Putin that Turkey “is ready to cooperate" and suggested a willingness for a triple summit between Turkey, Russia, and Syria.

Analysis from Middle East Policy

A Middle East Policy article by Jeffrey Mankoff explains how states in the Middle East are seeking to balance the benefits of Russian and Western partnerships in their responses to the war in Ukraine.

 

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