Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held a meeting in Moscow to address what the Russian leader termed as an "escalation" in the Middle East, as shown on television on Thursday.
This meeting, which took place late on Wednesday, occurs while Russia, having supported Assad's government through military intervention in 2015 during the civil war, could potentially act as a mediator to ease tensions between Syria and Turkey. This marks the first encounter between the two leaders since March of the previous year, following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of a trilateral meeting to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus.
Erdogan stated, "Now we have reached a point where if Bashar al-Assad takes a step towards improving relations with Turkey, we will reciprocate in kind." Initially, Turkey sought to overthrow Assad's regime when the Syrian conflict began with the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2011, supporting rebels who demanded his removal. However, Ankara's focus has shifted more recently to preventing what Erdogan described in 2019 as a "terror corridor" from forming in northern Syria.
Erdogan has consistently indicated that he might reconsider relations with Assad, as his government works towards ensuring the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees. Since 2016, Turkey has conducted a series of offensives in Syria against Kurdish militias, the Islamic State group, and forces loyal to Assad. Pro-Turkish forces now control two large areas along the Syrian border.
