The White House said President Donald Trump talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, a day after the Russian leader held discussions with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad about a political resolution to end nearly seven years of fighting in Syria.
Trump and Putin spoke informally several times last week when they both were attending a Southeast Asia summit in Vietnam. Among other issues, they discussed principles for the future of war-wracked Syria, where about 400,000 people have been killed and millions of refugees have been forced to flee their homes because of the fighting.
The Kremlin said Tuesday it called Assad to the Black Sea resort of Sochi for talks with Putin about Russia’s peace proposals for Syria, ahead of Putin’s summit Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Russia has bolstered Assad’s rule with airstrikes since late 2015 against groups trying to overthrow his regime, with Iranian fighters also supporting Damascus, and Turkey backing the Syrian opposition.
His power ensured, Asssad said he expressed his gratitude to Putin “for all of the efforts that Russia made to save our country.”
Putin, according to the Kremlin, told Assad Russia’s “military operation is coming to an end. Thanks to the Russian army, Syria has been saved as a state. Much has been done to stabilize the situation in Syria.”
He praised Assad, predicting terrorism would suffer an “inevitable” defeat in Syria.
The Kremlin quoted Assad as saying, “It is in our interest to advance the political process. … We don’t want to look back. And we are ready for dialogue with all those who want to come up with a political settlement.”
U.N.-led peace talks about Syria are scheduled for November 28 in Geneva.
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