Boasts with Bashar of beating terrorists
Russian strongman Vladimir Putin declared victory against “terrorists” in Syria on Monday during a surprise visit to one of his nation’s military bases in the war-torn county.
Putin also announced a partial pullout of troops during his first trip to Syria, where Russia launched an air campaign in 2015 that allowed dictator Bashar al-Assad’s forces to gain the upper hand against ISIS, as well as Syrian rebels.
Putin’s brief stop at the coastal Hemeimeem air base was the first leg in a three-country, one-day whirlwind diplomatic visit that also included Egypt and Turkey.
Putin is keen to leverage the heightened Middle East influence that Syria has given him to cast himself as a leader who can conduct diplomacy as well as wield military force.
In a televised speech, he hailed his troops’ “excellent” performance in Syria, where the Russian military declared victory against ISIS last week.
“You have shown the best qualities of a Russian soldier — courage, valor, team spirit, decisiveness and excellent skills,” he said. “The Motherland is proud of you.”
Russia launched its air campaign in Syria at the end of September 2015, when Assad’s government was teetering on the brink of collapse, and quickly changed the course of the conflict.
Russian officials say the troops were sent to Syria mainly to fight “terrorists,” including ISIS and al Qaeda, but they also battled mainstream rebels opposed to the Assad family’s four-decade rule.
Putin has hosted Assad twice in the past six years, including a surprise Nov. 21 visit to Sochi.
Russian television stations showed Putin walking off the plane at the air base, embracing and shaking hands with Assad. The two then visited a military operations room.
During a stop in Egypt, Russian and Egyptian ministers signed a $21 billion deal to start work on Egypt’s Dabaa nuclear-power plant and Putin said Moscow was ready to resume Russian civilian flights to Egypt that were halted in 2015 after militants bombed a Russian tourist jet over Sinai.
Later, Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were both critical of President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Erdogan said that he and Putin also agree on other issues, and that the close relationship between Turkey and Russia was “important and meaningful for regional stability.”
The Turkish leader said they are working to find a “lasting political solution” to Syria’s civil war.
Erdogan added that his government’s deal to obtain Russia’s S-400 missile defense system — a source of worry for Turkey's NATO allies — would be finalized this week.