Russian defense minister meets Assad in Syria

MOSCOW

Russia’s defense minister met with Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad as part of an official visit to the war-torn country, Russia said.

According to a Defense Ministry statement issued late Saturday, Assad and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu discussed military issues and the two countries’ defense cooperation as well as "fighting terrorist groups that are active in Syria."

During his visit as ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Shoygu also inspected Russian soldiers serving at the Khmeimim Airbase, near Latakia in eastern Syria.

In September 2015, the Russian military began a campaign of much-criticized airstrikes in Syria at the request of Assad regime. In November, a Russian jet was shot down by Turkey after crossing from Syrian into Turkish airspace despite several warnings. This March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial withdrawal from Syria, saying that the operation had achieved its goals.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, put the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.