Assad Makes Surprise Visit to Moscow
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad traveled to Moscow for his first known foreign trip since the conflict broke out in his country in 2011, holding key talks on the crisis with President Vladimir Putin.
Assad, who last visited Russia in 2008, used the surprise visit on Tuesday evening to thank Putin for launching a campaign of air strikes in Syria last month, with the two leaders agreeing that military operations must be followed by political steps.
Putin pledged to continue to support Damascus militarily, while calling for a political solution involving all groups to try to end the war, the Kremlin said as it announced the visit on Wednesday.
Assad's talks with one of his few remaining allies came the same day the United Nations said tens of thousands of people had fled new regime offensives in Syria.
Assad told Putin the Russian air bombardments launched on September 30 -- which have prompted an outcry in the West -- had helped stop the spread of "terrorism" in his country, the Kremlin said.
The strikes are reported to have killed 370 people so far, a third of them civilians, according to a monitoring group.
Russia insists the campaign is intended to target the extremist Islamic State group and others it describes as "terrorists".
But rebels and the West accuse Moscow of seeking to prop up Assad and of striking moderate and Islamist opposition forces rather than just jihadists.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Assad's lightning trip as a "working visit" at the invitation of the Kremlin, and by Wednesday morning, Assad was back in Damascus, the Syrian presidency told AFP.
It appears the Kremlin waited for the Syrian leader to return home before announcing the visit.
Peskov declined to say whether the "lengthy" talks, which also saw the two leaders and their entourages dine together, brought any firm results nor whether Assad's fate had been discussed.
Putin said Russia was ready to do everything it could to help secure peace in Syria, where the conflict first erupted as a peaceful uprising against the regime in March 2011.
Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and millions forced from their homes, sparking a mass migration of refugees that has raised tensions in Europe.
"We are ready to make our contribution not only during armed hostilities in the fight against terrorism but also during a political process," Putin said.
Assad also stressed the importance of "further political steps," according to the Kremlin statement.
"I need to say that the political steps which Russia has taken since the start of the crisis prevented the events in Syria from developing along a more tragic scenario," he said.
"Terrorism which has now spread through the region would have consumed much larger areas and would have spread throughout much more territory if it were not for your actions and your decisions," he said in comments translated into Russian.
Putin said the Syrian people should decide the fate of their country, a thinly veiled jab at the United States which has long insisted that Assad should go before there can be any peaceful settlement.
"Based on positive results in military operations at the end of the day a long-term settlement can be achieved on the basis of a political process with the participation of all political forces, ethnic and religious groups," the Kremlin strongman said.
"And ultimately, the final word no doubt should rest solely with the Syrian people."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Mikhail Fradkov and Nikolai Patrushev, chief of Russia's security council, all took part in the talks.
The Syrian presidency said Putin and Assad held a total of three meetings including a closed one-on-one encounter.
With the Russian bombing campaign now in its fourth week, Moscow and Washington announced Tuesday they had agreed measures to reduce the risk of a confrontation between Russian warplanes and others from a U.S.-led coalition bombing Syria.
But Moscow has also chided Washington -- which has refused to host a high-ranking delegation from Russia -- for refusing to cooperate on Syria beyond ensuring the safety of flights.
"I believe some of our partners simply have mush for brains," Putin said last week.
Britain has also refused to cooperate with Moscow and share intelligence on IS targets in Syria, Russia's ambassador in London Alexander Yakovenko said in televised remarks.
Russia has carried out more than 500 air raids in support of Assad, which the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said had killed more than 370 people.
Iran, another key Assad ally, has reportedly sent hundreds of troops to fight alongside his forces.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Tuesday that around 35,000 people were reported to have been displaced from the outskirts of the second city Aleppo following renewed government offensives.
Aleppo, once Syria's commercial hub, has been a key focus of the fighting and since 2012, it has been divided between government forces and rebels.
21 October 2015, 10:46
512
hehe, when hell freezes over :) in the mean time it's your takfiri lovers that are being sent to "siberia"
21 October 2015, 11:20
119
tell us how you resisted the Syrian occupation and broke through ISF and Syrian intelligence and got beaten up and then on March 8th, you said "Shoukran Souriya".
Everybody knows you are not Lebanese but Iranian, so don't pretend to be something you are not.
21 October 2015, 11:22
712
well you already seem to know the story, and cant seem to get over your obsession of it, so why do you need me to tell you again? my advice would be for you ro find something else to fixate on, this is not healthy
21 October 2015, 11:02
612
Assad is the last bulwark against the takfiris spread throughout the World, The Resistance realizes this so does Russia & China etc.
Only the West seems to be confused because their leaders are fond of Wahabism in Human rights council.
21 October 2015, 11:14
711
Turkey officially taking side with ISIS http://www.voltairenet.org/article189059.html
and the goofs here still claim ISIS is some secret Assad conspiracy
21 October 2015, 15:47
57
the usual troll and his multitude of accounts defending his paymaster and using his voting powers.
21 October 2015, 17:05
53
mowaten. Thanks for the link to that article. Absolutely scandalous if the western media takes it up. I was even surprised by the candour of his extremist arrogance! Turkey is in real trouble and i think a military coup will happen if the 1st attempt wasn't completely destroyed by Erdagon few years back! Secular Republic of Turkey, born from the hero Ataturk, is truly threatened and near the end thanks to the sultan Erdagon. It will be very interesting how the Turkish armed forces (the defenders of secular Turkey) respond. If they still can?
21 October 2015, 17:53
53
tex... did you read mowaten's article link? What do you think about it? I know you already realise that Erdagon's Turkey is supporting ISIS and bombing the kurds. How, as an american can NATO, Europe and the USA still be allies with this "Nato Member"? how do they deal with Turkey?
21 October 2015, 11:08
118
and here come bashar best lapdogs to support him...
funny how they love a man and a regime that killed hundreds of lebanese and even thanked him for that... and they call themselves "patriots" what a joke....
21 October 2015, 11:21
812
those "hundreds of lebanese" were mostly traitors and US/israeli collaborators. why should we care? you guys cheer when israel and/or takfiris bomb civilians in dahiyeh, the south or the bekaa, so you can shove your self-righteousness.
21 October 2015, 12:54
76
@mowaten E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T. Still laughing since the day you declared with a straight face you were a shiaa atheist and also a member of hezbollah with only one account. I think i will also continue to laugh at your statement " you guys cheer when israel and/or takfiris bomb civilians". Thank you Thank you
21 October 2015, 16:57
35
momo- you just proved that you are not Lebanese. No self respecting Lebanese would ever say that Lebanese heroes (God rest their soul) that were murdered, slaughtered and humiliated by the syrian occupiers were traitors. tfeh 3laik. Shame on you and and on anyone who supports someone who dishonors our patriots that lost their lives defending our Lebanon from the likes of the Assad regime. Tfeh wo sit meit tfeh.
21 October 2015, 20:03
13
mooowaten the souri has opnce again shown his true "lebanese" patriotism... saying that those who were killed only because they opposed the syrians were pro israelis is disgusting and treacherous...
pity this syrian dog....
21 October 2015, 11:21
118
not mowaten, no. He resisted and demonstrated against Assad. But now that Assad is not in Lebanon he is Pro Ass-ad.
21 October 2015, 11:24
711
i demonstrated against syrian occupation of lebanon, my issue with syria ended when that occupation ended.
21 October 2015, 11:25
611
unlike m14ers who were the priviledged collaborators of syria and never had a problem licking their boots, until syrians left and they started being the beacons of sovereignty, independence and saudi-boot licking.
21 October 2015, 12:03
108
i hate to quote a dead person, but as traitor flamethrower used to say" Situations change, Contexts evolve" but you mowaten will remain an iranian paid mouthpiece.
21 October 2015, 16:46
37
"my issue with syria ended when that occupation ended."
Israel is no longer in Lebanon, then you should not have an issue with it as well, troll.
21 October 2015, 19:30
31
check again israeli.takfiri, israel still occupies parts of lebanon, and the whole of palestine.
21 October 2015, 12:04
610
peace we will not forget the ones that wished Israel to finish us off during the 2006 war.
21 October 2015, 12:25
910
I know you do.
Which is why the Resistance went to Syria to finish your kind off.
21 October 2015, 13:02
810
In typical demagogue fashion, Mystic talks about the noble objectives of Hizbollah. Since the involvement of hizbollah and Iran 4 years ago, Assad lost 80% of Syria and HA lost over a thousand men in Syria. Now, Russia joined in and the end result will be the same. The rebels will absorb the initial massacres of the cluster bombs and will be on the offensive once again and your hizbollah will lose many more men. Your arrogance is unfounded as usual.
21 October 2015, 13:15
106
According to Al Arabiya and March 14 the Resistance lost over 10.000 men already.
The Russians have advanced airpower, they achieved to hit the takfiris much harder in just a week.
The Western coalition didn't do crap in a whole year.
The Syrian army are on the offensive, even though every opponent said it was about to break up.
21 October 2015, 13:38
710
I am not going to ask you Mystic to show where Al Arabiya said hizbollah lost 10,000 men because I know you cannot back up your typical propaganda.
21 October 2015, 14:25
78
@Janoubi: but you can ask mystic about the 25 Saudi F-16's that his Huthis downed in Yemen;)
@Southern: I did not include you in my wishes "bro". My wishes are for the terrorist sectarian militia and its followers. My wishes for you are happiness and success in Iran.
21 October 2015, 14:26
78
@Janoubi: but you can ask mystic about the 25 Saudi F-16's that his Huthis downed in Yemen;)
@Southern: I did not include you in my wishes "bro". My wishes are for the terrorist sectarian militia and its followers. My wishes for you are happiness and success in Iran.
21 October 2015, 14:46
58
oh fake_mowaten; have you not heard? those 15,000 CIA trained rebels were not needed. Assad and his mercenary shia militia were crushed by 5,000 rebels only, they had to call in Papa Putin to khelp them.
21 October 2015, 14:47
74
Yahoudi, so give me your proof that so many Resistance fighters died that you claim.
Your links are probaly from Gulf and March 14 news outlets.
21 October 2015, 20:07
21
if assad was resisting israel as your propaganda tells you to say, then the golan heights would have been liberated a long time ago... but what? not a singl shot fired to liberate it... LOL
he is in power thanks to israel no one else....
21 October 2015, 20:12
23
but the day some lebanese wanted syria to leave they were killed by syria or their collaborators...
and do not forget that each time syria ignitied the fire in order to stay and justify its "protection"... when one side was about to win over the other syria would switch its alliance and go with the side it had fought....
read aoun speeches on the subject or maybe you will tell me he was lying too....
21 October 2015, 14:28
86
Those who claim that the Butcher is a protection against Takfiris are either incompetent, or liars, or idiots or a combination of all three.
21 October 2015, 15:44
00
To convince us he is secular and atheist you will find mowaten on every article defending Iran, Assad, and Hezbollah. You will also find him on any article attacking KSA, Hariri, Sunnis and their Christian allies.
21 October 2015, 17:08
00
The picture that will change the world...for the better, Thank you GOD !!! Bless Vladimir the Graet, Bless Assad the Resistant !!!
21 October 2015, 17:09
82
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
Winston Churchill
21 October 2015, 17:18
73
Tex... read this analysis by Robert Frisk. Not one of my favourites when it comes to Lebanese politics. He was very good friends with the martyr Rafic Hariri and is very anti Aoun and Kateab/LF during the Lebanese civil war period (pro leftist/Palestinian). But is undoubtedly one of the most learned Levantine journalists still around.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/with-russias-help-the-syrian-army-is-back-on-its-feet-and-fiercer-than-ever-a6698866.html
21 October 2015, 17:22
48
robert fisk is a mouthpiece just like you ado. He is a friend of assad. while at it read this:
Battle-Weary Syrian Forces Struggle despite Russian Air War
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/192336-battle-weary-syrian-forces-struggle-despite-russian-air-war
21 October 2015, 17:37
63
If you think Robert Fisk is the mouth piece of Assad then you are mistaken. He has blamed Assad's Syria for the assisnation of Hariri! He has repeatedly claimed Assad's Syrian Government is about to fall over the past 4 years. Yes, that nahernet article claims Assad and the Syrian Army is about to collapse, but this is the point... They have been claiming that for the past 4 years! Russia's involvement is the turning point. Look at Saudi arabia now even saying Assad has a role to play in Syria.
21 October 2015, 17:23
26
flamethrower the troll must be broke.... he is begging for a loan...!
21 October 2015, 18:25
52
tex... its up to the syrian people to vote and declare who they want to represent them. Take away the 35,000 foreign fighters in syria and the "opposition" and isis have very little military weight. The CIA estimates that at "least" 60% of the Syrian people are pro Syrian Government! In a real, free and true elections, the odds are that Assad would still win. This is the fear of Saudi Arabia/Gulf countries and Turkey. They can't accept that. The opposition is completely without Druze, Christians, Kurds, Allawites and many of the syrian sunni community. They estimate that only 40% of Syrian sunnis are pro "opposition" or pro islamists (aka ISIS, AL nusra)! This leave almost all the syrian religious and ethnic minorities being pro Syrian Regime and half almost half the syrian sunni community!
21 October 2015, 20:13
22
bahsar just went in russia to ask putin if he would accept him the day he flees syria....
21 October 2015, 20:33
22
"Saving Private Assad", the movie. Assad's fate is no longer in the hands of Khamanei but in Putin's hands.
22 October 2015, 02:59
00
With two thousand years of examples behind us, we have no excuses when fighting for not fighting well. T. E. Lawrence ( Lawrence of Arabia ) Russia is doing what France is failed to do because of its NATO membership and geographical location. That's how you have to interpret it. Regardless of who are the players someone has to stop it, the disease will spread and it will be too late. Ironically, mother Russia who defeated the same decease back in 13 century, has accepted the battle with the 21centure "tatar!!!" military invasion to invade and conquer Europe and the middle east... I hope you will understand the parallel. Have a zatar pie with the cup of tea for your breakfast. Peace!
