Putin holds talks with Assad in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at the Kremlin, the president's press service said on July 25.

The meeting was held the previous day.  

Russia has long been one of the consistent supporters of the Assad regime, intervening on its behalf in 2015 against multiple anti-government forces. Russia still has troops in Syria. Damascus has been supportive of the Kremlin during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

In a readout of the meeting, Putin said that he wanted to hear Assad's "opinion on the situation in the region as a whole."

"Regrettably, we see that it tends to deteriorate," Putin added.

According to the readout, Assad said he was "happy to see" Putin again and emphasized that "relations between our nations have been based on trust, which is evidence of our nations' maturity."

"Considering the current developments in the world, and in particular in the Eurasian region, our meeting today is extremely important for discussing the details of all these developments, as well as potential outlooks and scenarios," Assad is quoted as saying through a translator.

Putin and Assad last met in Moscow in March 2023.