Russian President Putin in Syria for crisis talks with Assad

Published: Jan. 7, 2020, 11 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to Syria today, where he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a Russian air base outside Damascus. It’s his second trip to Syria since Assad invited Russian troops into the country in 2015. Putin will go on to Turkey for talks with President Erdogan, where the two will inaugurate a new oil pipeline. They are also expected to discuss Turkey’s recent decision to send troops to Libya, where the two countries are on opposite sides. Ambassador Peter Ford, a former UK Ambassador to Syria, joins the show.