Putin Condemns Foreign Troops In Syria In Assad Meeting

Putin condemns foreign troops in Syria in Assad meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the presence of foreign troops in Syria without the approval of its leader Bashar al-Assad, during their unannounced meeting in Moscow, the Kremlin said Tuesday

Moscow, Sept 14 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Sep, 2021 ) :Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the presence of foreign troops in Syria without the approval of its leader Bashar al-Assad, during their unannounced meeting in Moscow, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

Putin has been a key ally of the Assad regime throughout the Syrian conflict that erupted in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

Russia's military intervention in 2015 at Assad's request helped turn the tide of the war in his favour and Moscow maintains key military bases in the country.

"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 on Monday, 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 Syrian territory to government control.

"Terrorists have suffered very serious significant damage, and the Syrian government, headed by you, controls 90 percent of the country's territory," Putin told Assad, the Kremlin said.

Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies control swathes of land along Turkey's southern border after seizing them from Syrian Kurdish fighters during the decade-old conflict.

Turkish soldiers have also been deployed at monitoring points around the last major rebel bastion of Idlib in the northwest of the country.