How Vladimir Putin became the Middle East’s power-broker

Russian president to push world leaders for Syrian peace plan after Assad meeting

Vladimir Putin discusses military tactics with Syria's Bashar al-Assad

Vladimir Putin has staked his claim to be a Middle East power-broker after pushing world leaders to agree a lasting peace in Syria.

The Russian president hosted his Syrian counterpart and ally Bashar al-Assad in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday. The meeting with Assad, only the second time the Syrian leader has travelled abroad since the civil war started more than six years ago, “was apparently staged carefully to show off Putin’s claim to be the new power-broker in the Middle East”, says The Times.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up