NEWS

21.11.2017 | Vladimir Putin hosted 'secret talks' with Syrian President Assad in Russia
Source - The Daily Express

The Syrian President praised his Russian counterpart for his political and military support during the conflict, reportedly saying “thanks to the Russian army Syria was saved as a state”.

Al Assad said: “During this period, great achievements have been made, both directly on the battlefield and politically.

“Some areas of Syria have been liberated from terrorists, and the Syrians who were forced to leave them earlier could return to these areas.

"We must admit that this operation allowed us to promote a political settlement in Syria.”

Despite taking place on Monday the meeting was not announced until the early hours of this morning.

The despot said he was counting on Russia’s support to find a political settlement in the war-torn nation.

He said: ”We count on Russia's support to ensure that external players do not interfere in the political process and that from the outside they only support the process that the Syrians themselves will lead.

"We do not want to look back, we welcome all those who are really interested in a political settlement, we are ready to conduct a dialogue with them.”

Vladimir Putin also spoke of his up coming meeting with the President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, and the President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, in Moscow on Wednesday.

Putin said he will discuss the future of Syria with the two leaders.

Remarks from his meet with al Assad were broadcast on Russia TV.

Following the meeting Putin reportedly plans to call Donald Trump.

And according to a transcript of the meeting, the Russian President also plans to speak to the Qatari leader and other regional powers.

The phone calls are reportedly scheduled for today.

The meeting followed news that Putin had ordered an increase in the size of his armed forces amid growing tensions with the West.

The Russian leader announced via state media his military would be bolstered with an additional 100,000 service personnel.

The reinforcements bring the size of Russia’s armed forces to 1.9 million, including more than one million active troops.

The announcement comes as Russia continues to exert its influence over Eastern Europe and the prospect of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula looms over East Asia.

Thousands of NATO troops are currently deployed in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to counter the possibility of a Russian invasions.


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