Syria’s Al Assad meets Putin in Moscow on first war-time trip

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad held talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in his first known foreign visit since the civil war erupted in 2011, underscoring the growing Russian role in the four-year conflict.

Almost a month into a Russian bombing campaign in support of Al Assad’s forces, Putin told the Syrian leader during the unannounced visit to the Kremlin that “there have been some major positive results in this fight” against the “international terrorists” battling government forces, according to a transcript released by Russia’s government.

Ending the crisis requires “a political process with the participation of all political forces, ethnic and religious groups,” Putin said in comments shown on Russian state television on Wednesday. Al Assad, thanking Russia for its assistance, said the fight against “terrorism” is the “obstacle against any true political steps that could be taken on the ground”.

Russia’s campaign of air strikes, which began September 30, seeks to help Al Assad retake as much as possible of the territory his forces have lost to opponents, which include US-backed rebels, Russian officials told Bloomberg News. Moscow’s deployment of several dozen planes, as well as ships in the Black and Caspian Seas, could last a year or more, one official said.

In Ankara, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he wished that Al Assad stayed in Moscow longer to give his people “relief” and start the political transition.

“If only he could stay in Moscow longer, to give the people of Syria some relief” in fact he should stay there so the transition can begin.”

The US, the European Union and Turkey say that Al Assad must stand down as part of any resolution of the conflict. They say Russia is targeting Al Assad’s opponents and not Daesh militants who control vast swaths of the country and pose the greatest threat to the region. Putin accused some states last week of having “oatmeal in their heads” for failing to understand that Russia’s military campaign aims to defeat terrorism.

Sami Nader, head of the Beirut-based Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, said the trip to Moscow was Al Assad’s first foreign visit since the Syrian conflict began with an uprising against the regime in Damascus, and pointed to future Russian strategy ahead of any peace talks.

It’s “Russia’s way of saying he is in our pocket, he is our asset and we will decide whether to keep him,” Nader said. “This is for sure a preparation for a deal and one more attempt by the Russians to embolden their bargaining position.”

Russia has also attempted to take control of diplomacy surrounding the war, with Putin meeting among others Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the defence minister of Saudi Arabia, a key backer of mainstream rebels fighting Al Assad. Gulf and European diplomats have signalled they may be willing to accept Al Assad staying in power during a transition process as long as he goes eventually.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are expected to meet to discuss Syria this week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday. The talks could take place in Vienna and include Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir, Interfax news service reported on Monday, citing an unidentified diplomat.

Russia’s ready to “make a contribution not only in connection with military actions in the fight against terrorism but also in the political process,” Putin told Al Assad. He thanked him for accepting Russia’s invitation to Moscow.

“The message to the world is that Russia solves problems and you don’t. If you want to solve problems, work with us,” Sergei Karaganov, dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, said by phone when asked about the importance of Al Assad’s trip. Russia’s military operations have increased its political influence over Al Assad “many fold,” he said.

Putin talked with Al Assad about “the continuation of Russian operations in support of offensive actions by the Syrian Armed forces,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a conference call. “The president was informed in detail by his Syrian colleague about the situation in Syria and about future plans,” Peskov said. Other Russian and Syrian officials held talks.

Analysts say Russia and Al Assad’s forces are attempting to seize territory stretching from Damascus north to the city of Aleppo ahead of any attempt to forge an end to the fighting. That will be difficult to achieve, said Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict through a network of activists.

“They need tens of thousands of pro-government fighters to regain control of these regions,” he said. “There is no longer a support base for Al Assad” in many of the regions they are seeking to recapture, he said by phone from Egypt.

- With inputs from AP