MOSCOW/BEIRUT: Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian leader Bashar Assad late on Monday for three hours of talks to lay the groundwork for a new push by Moscow to end Syria’s conflict now that Daesh territorial caliphate is overrun.
Russia is actively trying to broker an international consensus around a peace deal for Syria, over two years after Moscow began a military intervention that turned the tide of the conflict in Assad’s favor.
Putin made a phone call to Saudi King Salman on Tuesday during which the two leaders reviewed bilateral ties. They also discussed the latest regional developments and joint cooperation to combat extremism.
Putin said he would follow up his meeting with Assad by talking in the next 48 hours to international leaders with influence over the conflict, among them US President Donald Trump and the leaders of Iran and Turkey.
After the talks in Russia — Assad’s first publicly-declared travel outside Syria since a trip to Moscow in October 2015 — a Kremlin spokesman refused to say if Assad’s own future had come up in the discussions, saying only that was up to the Syrian people.
In a sign that international attempts may be underway to bridge the differences between rival sides in the conflict, leading Syrian opposition figures, including former Prime Minister Riyad Hijab, resigned.
Hijab headed the opposition High Negotiations Committee and insisted on Assad’s removal from power at the start of a political transition.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Moscow, said the resignations would make the opposition more reasonable and realistic.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani — whose countries back opposing sides in the Syria conflict — will travel to Russia for a three-way meeting with Putin aimed at advancing the Syrian peace process.
Putin hosts Assad in fresh peace drive
Putin hosts Assad in fresh peace drive
UAE closes embassy in Tehran, withdraws ambassador
- UAE foreign ministry said Iranian strikes represented serious and irresponsible escalation
DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates closed its embassy in Tehran on Sunday and has withdrawn its ambassador and all diplomatic staff from Iran following Iranian missile strikes targeting the Gulf country.
In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision came in response to what it described as “blatant Iranian missile attacks” on Emirati territory.
The ministry said the strikes targeted civilian sites, including residential areas, airports, ports and service facilities, and represented a serious and irresponsible escalation.
“These hostile attacks constitute a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the statement said.
The ministry added that the move reflects the UAE’s “firm and unwavering stance against any aggression” that threatens its security and sovereignty. It accused Iran of continued hostile and provocative conduct that undermines de-escalation efforts and pushes the region toward a dangerous trajectory, threatening regional and international peace, energy security and global economic stability.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have faced hundreds of missile and drone attacks since Saturday, as Tehran retaliates against US-Israeli airstrikes.
While the majority of the projectiles have reportedly been intercepted, there have been reports of casualties and damage in several areas of both cities.
