Vladimir Putin has met Bashar al Assad in Moscow, after a surprise visit from the Syrian president that was announced by the Kremlin on Thursday morning.

Footage shared on Telegram by the Russian president’s press service showed the two leaders smiling and shaking hands, before sitting down and chatting through their respective interpreters.

“I am very glad to see you,” President Putin can be heard gushing to his guest.

Referring to the Middle East, he adds: “I am very interested in your opinion on how the situation in the region as a whole is developing.

“Unfortunately, there is a tendency towards escalation, we can see that. This also applied directly to Syria.”

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Russia has been a key ally for President Assad during the Syrian civil war, helping him regain control over the country following an uprising that began in 2011.

But why is he in Moscow now?

President Assad said the visit marked the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Damascus. But it feels like there is more to it.

Earlier this week, there was a report in a Turkish newspaper that Moscow could act as host and mediator for a meeting between President Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in August.

Turkey backs the Syrian leader’s opponents in the Syrian war and still protects some rebels in the northwest of the country.

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Putin the peacemaker?

Nothing is confirmed, but it would be a coup for the Kremlin if the meeting happened.

“Considering all the events that are taking place in the world as a whole and in the Eurasian region today, our meeting seems very important to discuss all the details of the development of these events, to discuss possible prospects and scenarios,” President Assad told the Russian leader.

The Syrian leader is the latest in a string of global strongmen to meet the Russian president, which will likely be a cause for concern among Western diplomats.

Before Mr Assad, President Putin’s most recent guests in the Kremlin were Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who both visited earlier this month.

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At the start of July, Russia’s leader met President Erdogan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan, as well as President Xi Jinping of China.

Before that, he was in North Korea and Vietnam.

Despite the West’s efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader still appears to have plenty of friends.

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