Putin sits down in Moscow with visiting Syrian President Assad

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Kremlin, the president’s press service says.

“I am very interested in your opinion on how the situation in the region as a whole is developing,” Putin tells Assad. “Unfortunately, there is a tendency towards escalation, we can see that. This also applies directly to Syria.”

The Kremlin says the meeting took place yesterday.

“Considering all the events that are taking place in the world as a whole and in the Eurasian region today, our meeting today seems very important to discuss all the details of the development of these events, to discuss possible prospects and scenarios,” Assad tells Putin through a Russian translator.