President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called his counterpart, Bashar al-Assad of Syria,
to Moscow for an unannounced visit to discuss their joint military
campaign and a future political transition in Syria, the Kremlin
announced on Wednesday.
According to a transcript posted on the Kremlin’s website,
Mr. Putin told the Syrian leader during the meeting late Tuesday that
Russia was ready to contribute to the fight against terrorism and to a
political settlement of the conflict that has raged for more than four
years. Mr. Assad, in turn, briefed the Russian leader about the situation on the ground and on next steps.
The
surprise visit — evidently Mr. Assad’s first outside Syria since the
civil war began there in 2011 — highlighted how the political and
military horizon of the long war of attrition has shifted drastically
because of Russia’s intervention.
“On
the question of a settlement in Syria, our position is that positive
results in military operations will lay the basis for then working out a
long-term settlement, based on a political process that involves all
political forces, ethnic and religious groups,” Mr. Putin said.
“Ultimately, it is the Syrian people alone who must have the deciding
voice here.”
In
his response, Mr. Assad said that Russian intervention had halted the
spread of terrorism and that a political transition could come after
that threat was addressed.
“If
it were not for your actions and decisions, the terrorism that is
spreading through the region now would have made even greater gains and
spread to even wider territories,” Mr. Assad said, according to the
Kremlin transcript.
“We
all know that any military action must be followed by political steps,”
Mr. Assad said, calling the threat from terrorism a “real obstacle” to
any political settlement.
A summary of the discussion, also carried by the official Syrian news agency,
said Mr. Assad demanded that the United States and regional players
like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar should halt support for his
opponents.
“Of
course, the whole nation wants to participate in deciding the destiny
of their state, not only the ruling party,” Mr. Assad said.
Dmitry
S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, would not comment on whether the two
men broached the topic of Mr. Assad’s future during the talks, which Mr.
Peskov described as “lengthy.”
The
most obvious focus of the talks was “the fight against terrorist and
extremist groups, issues of the continuation of the Russian operation
supporting the offensive of the Syrian military,” Mr. Peskov said.
Just
a day earlier, Turkey, one of Mr. Assad’s most implacable critics, said
it would accept the Syrian leader’s staying in office for the first six months of a political transition,
although its prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, told reporters on
Wednesday that Turkey’s insistence that Mr. Assad must go had not
changed.
The
United States and its regional allies, as well as central factions of
the opposition in exile, reject the idea of a significant role for Mr.
Assad in any transition. Those differences have stymied international
efforts to negotiate a political settlement.
Aside
from the obvious issues of mutual concern given the current military
alliance of Russia and Syria, the meeting was another chance to
emphasize Russia’s re-emergence as a crucial player in the Middle East.
Part of the inspiration for Russian interference in Syria was to break
out of the isolation imposed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.
In
the remarks published on the Kremlin website, Mr. Putin highlighted the
fact that he was the one who called the meeting and that Russia wanted
to be involved in the military and political goals.
“Despite
the dramatic situation in your country, you have responded to our
request and come here to Russia, and we thank you for this,” Mr. Putin
said.
He
added, “We are ready to make our contribution not only to the military
operations and the fight against terrorism, but also to the political
process.”
He said Russia would do this in coordination with other global powers.
The
lack of a response from Washington to Russia’s initiatives on Syria has
been a disappointment to the Kremlin, and the meeting with Mr. Assad
will put new pressure on the Obama administration to engage. Russia
expressed displeasure on Tuesday that an agreement signed between the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense earlier in the day had not gone further in forging cooperation in Syria.
Mr.
Assad has not made any public visits abroad since the uprising began in
March 2011, with diplomats long speculating that, if he left, those
around him might overthrow him. But the new Russian support, including
this high-profile meeting in Moscow, has clearly given him extra clout
and a new political lease on life.
“He’ll
return to Damascus temporarily reinforced by the Russian military and
publicly expressed political support,” said a Western diplomat in the
Middle East, who spoke on the condition of anonymity according to the
rules of his ministry.
Mr.
Putin has also made a habit of staking out policy positions or taking
other actions that appear to contradict or at least supplant his
previous statements. He was playing down the chance of military action
in the days before his air force started bombing in Syria on Sept. 30.
He
and other Russian officials have also repeatedly said that they are not
married to the idea of Mr. Assad as leader of Syria. But the meeting
gave Mr. Assad a certain endorsement, and it also pointed to Russia as
the crucial player in any future political transition in Syria.
Analysts
say they believe that Russia hopes to shore up Mr. Assad’s power over
key parts of central Syria and then push the fight against Islamic State
strongholds in the West. Russia and Syria tend to group the armed
opposition organizations, including both the Islamic State and rebels
backed by the West, as Islamic terrorists.
Mr.
Putin repeated his previous statements that at least 4,000 men from
Russia and the former Soviet republics who have gone to Syria to fight
for the Islamic State represent a real danger should they come home.
That argument has fueled the popularity of the war at home. He has also
sought to use Syria to burnish Russia’s credentials as a global power
and his own as a central figure in solving international problems.
During
the visit, senior Russian officials joined Mr. Putin and Mr. Assad for
dinner including the defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu; the prime
minister, Dmitri A. Medvedev; and the foreign minister, Sergey V.
Lavrov.
The Moscow meeting was the first encounter between the two presidents since Russian forces began airstrikes in Syria,
and it is believed to be their first meeting since 2007. Diplomats have
said previously that there was little warmth or chemistry between the
two men.
Although
the air campaign has been publicly portrayed as an effort to turn back
Islamic State militants, the main targets thus far have been the
opposition units that most directly threaten Mr. Assad.
Under
the cover provided by about 50 Russian military aircraft, the Syrian
armed forces, along with fighters from Iran and the Lebanese militant
group Hezbollah, have been pressing a ground offensive in and around
important central cities, including Aleppo.
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