The Russian leader stresses that the troops are in the country against the will of Damascus

Putin blames foreign troop presence for Syria's instability

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In an undisclosed meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Moscow, during which Putin said that the great complexity of "consolidating the Syrian nation" lies in the presence of foreign troops in the country.

Putin went on to say that the international presence "is clearly contrary to international law" and does not allow the Syrian government "to make the maximum effort to consolidate the country and move towards its reconstruction at the pace that would be possible if the entire territory were under the control of President al-Assad". "Only the consolidation of all forces in Syria will allow the country to stand up and begin a progressive, forward-looking development," he said.

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For his part, Al-Asad said that "the political processes that we have been carrying out have been stagnant for about three years". He also pointed out that "some states exert a destructive influence on the political processes, by all means. There are other factors as well, we are well aware of them and we are trying to do our best to solve these pressing problems".

Similarly, as reported by the Russian agency Sputnik, Putin congratulated al-Assad on his "victory" in the Syrian elections, saying that the result is a popular demonstration of al-Assad's confidence. However, these elections have not been without controversy, as the opposition considers the elections to have been "fraudulent" and "undemocratic".

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On the other hand, Putin has pointed to the effort that the Syrian leader is making to encourage dialogue with his opponents, in an action that Moscow hopes will "continue". According to al-Assad's office, the meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of both countries to "address the collaboration between the governments" in the fight against terrorism and the "liberation of territories under terrorist organisations".

 Syrian resistance

Although al-Assad's army is in control of 90% of the territory and the military victory is more than evident, rebels in the northern parts of the country continue to resist Syrian-Russian offensives. Over the past month, the Syrian National Army, with Russian assistance, has been shelling Syrian resistance positions in Idlib, as well as carrying out artillery attacks on the villages of Fattire, Binin and Shinan in the Jabal Zawiya region.

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Together, these regions are home to Kurdish communities that became strategic allies of the West in the fight against terrorism during the Syrian civil war. After the liberation of territories such as Kobane, the Kurds grouped in the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) took command of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish-Arab fighters that succeeded in defeating Daesh.

The SDF has become the main focus of resistance in Syria and, despite the national offensives, continues to have a presence in the region. In this regard, the Russian air force has significantly intensified its bombing, even attacking the headquarters of Faylaq al Sham in Iskan, near the Syrian Kurdish canton of Afrin. In addition, they continue to control oil fields in the east and hold former jihadists as prisoners.

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Even so, Kurdish spokesmen claim that the Syrian opposition has ceased to exist. In the struggle for control of the area, the northern regions that were once home to strong opposition groups are now a kind of zone that is home to militiamen in the service of Turkey and exiled politicians.

Although the overthrow of Daesh in Syria was officially announced in 2019, jihadist groups continue to operate underground. According to the SDF, Daesh carried out 32 attacks in Deir Ezzor in May alone.  
 

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Following the withdrawal of US support, Turkey led sustained offensives against the Kurdish insurgency, eventually occupying the Kurdish canton of Afrain in 2019. After the occupation, the Kurds were forced to sign a deal with al-Assad, which SDF commander Mazloum Abdi told the BBC had agreed to "painful compromises". The commander declared that "we do not trust their promises. To be honest, it is difficult to know who to trust, but if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose the lives of our people".

Thus, in the struggle for the north, the Kurds are trying to reconnect the cantons to continue fighting for "the dream of Kurdistan", while trying to stop Turkish offensives and ceding autonomies to Al-Assad for fear of Turkish "genocide". Meanwhile, Syria is trying to emerge from one of the most dramatic conflicts of our century, with official figures putting the death toll at 400,000.

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