Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meet in Moscow for the first time since 2015 | world News

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met Vladimir Putin in Moscow, their first meeting in the Russian capital since 2015.

The Kremlin said Putin congratulated his counterpart on his victory in the presidential election in May.

The elections – in which Assad was said to have won 95% of the vote – were rejected by most Western countries as sham.

Photo: This was their first meeting in the Russian capital in six years. Pic: AP

Putin also used Monday’s meeting to praise President Assad’s renewed grip on the country after a decade of fighting.

The Kremlin quoted him as saying: “The terrorists have been badly damaged, and the Syrian government headed by you controls 90% of the territory.”

However, he reportedly warned that the deployment of foreign forces in Syria without a UN resolution was an impediment to their consolidation.

The meeting between the two leaders was the first between them since the summit of the Syrian capital Damascus in January 2020.

Photo: Russian forces, like this military police officer, remain in parts of Syria

The Kremlin said President Assad also thanked Mr. Putin for sending aid to Syria and efforts to stop the “spread of terrorism”.

He praised what he called the success of the Russian and Syrian armies in “liberating the occupied lands” from his country, and described Western sanctions as “anti-human” and “illegal”.

Syrian state television said the Syrian foreign minister and the Russian defense minister later joined the two leaders for discussions on counter-terrorism and mutual relations.

Photo: Daraa al-Balad in September 2021: Most of Syria has been destroyed by the war

Hundreds of thousands have been killed in the Syrian war – which began in 2011 after peaceful protests sparked by the Arab Spring, while millions have fled the country or been internally displaced.

Support from Russia helped President Assad regain all the territory he lost during the conflict.

Hundreds of its forces remain in Syria and opposition activists say Russian planes recently carried out strikes in Idlib province, the last major opposition area.

While the COVID-19 crisis has helped take the conflict out of the headlines, the situation remains bleak with continued fighting in some areas, food insecurity and a devastated economy.

The United Nations said this month that 13.4 million Syrians still needed assistance and urged the need for greater humanitarian access.

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