Putin meets Assad, condemns foreign troops in Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin received Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Moscow for the first time since 2015 on Monday and criticised foreign forces that are in Syria without a UN mandate, the Kremlin said, in a rebuke of the US and Turkey, according to France 24.
Bilateral relations, the fight against terrorism and the political process in the war-torn country dominated the discussions between Putin and Assad, according to Syrian state TV.
"The main problem, in my view, is that foreign armed forces remain in certain regions of the country without the approval of the United Nations and without your permission," Putin told Assad during their meeting, according to a Kremlin statement.
Putin hailed Russia and Syria's "joint efforts" in the conflict, saying their militaries had returned the vast majority of territory to government control.