Syrian president Assad arrives in Moscow, set to meet Putin

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad has arrived in Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet top ally Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia is a main backer of Assad and has a broad presence in Syria, where a 12-year uprising-turned-civil war has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population. Moscow has played a pivotal role in fighting back armed opposition groups trying to topple Assad’s government through its military support, and has also aggressively backed Damascus against opponents at the United Nations. The Kremlin confirmed Tuesday that Putin will meet with Assad on Wednesday — the anniversary of the conflict — in a statement carried by Russia’s state news agency Tass.