PUTIN HOSTS ASSAD TO DISCUSS WAR PROGRESS

The Kremlin says Syrian President Bashar Assad has met with President Vladimir Putin at his summer residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. A transcript of Thursday’s meeting released by the Kremlin quoted Assad as saying that Syria is making progress in fighting “terrorism,” which “opens the door to the political process.”

Russia has been a key ally of Assad throughout the seven-year Syrian civil war.