Overview
- It was the Syrian leader’s second visit to Russia in four months, with the Kremlin flagging talks on economic cooperation and regional security.
- Senior Russian figures, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and GRU chief Igor Kostioukov, joined the meeting.
- Russia withdrew forces and equipment this week from its small installation at Qamichli airport in northeast Syria, a site established in 2019 under an arrangement with Turkey.
- Damascus has pressed an offensive against SDF-held areas in the northeast, and a fragile ceasefire was extended for 15 days despite mutual violation claims.
- France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States urged Syrian government and Kurdish forces to avoid a security vacuum that could benefit ISIS, and President Donald Trump said after a call with the Syrian leader that "everything was going very well."