Putin heralds Assad’s win over ‘terrorists’ as they meet in Moscow for first time since 2015
Syrian President Bashar al Assad has met Vladimir Putin in Moscow – their first meeting in the Russian capital since 2015.
Mr Putin congratulated his counterpart on winning May’s presidential election, according to the Kremlin.
The election – in which Mr Assad is said to have won 95% of the vote – was dismissed as a sham by most Western countries.
It was their first meeting in the Russian capital for six years. Pic: AP
Mr Putin also used Monday’s meeting to praise President Assad’s renewed grip on the country after a decade of fighting.
The Kremlin quoting him as saying: “Terrorists had sustained a very serious damage, and Syrian government, headed by you, controls 90% of the territories.”
However, he reportedly warned that foreign forces being deployed in Syria without a decision by the UN were a hindrance to its consolidation.
The meeting between the two leaders was their first since a summit in Syrian capital Damascus in January 2020.
Russia forces, such as this military police officer, remain in parts of Syria
President Assad thanked Mr Putin for sending aid to Syria and efforts to halt the “spread of terrorism”, the Kremlin said.
He praised what he called the success of Russian and Syrian armies in “liberating occupied territories” of his country and described Western sanctions on Syria as “antihuman” and “illegitimate”.
Deraa al Balaad in September 2021: Much of Syria has been devastated by the war
Hundreds of thousands have died in Syria’s war – which started in 2011 after peaceful protests sparked by the Arab Spring, while millions have fled the country or been internally displaced.
Support from Russia has helped President Assad regain nearly all the territory lost during the war.
While the COVID crisis has helped push the conflict out of the headlines, the situation remains bleak with fighting still going on in some areas, food insecurity and a ruined economy.
The UN said this month that 13.4 million Syrians still needed help and urged the need for greater humanitarian access.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has directly called on his US and Chinese counterparts to join his latest summit for peace in Ukraine.
Speaking from Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Friday, Mr Zelenskyy announced a “global peace summit”, co-hosted by Switzerland, starting on 15 June.
He claimed 80 countries have already confirmed their attendance.
But he said: “I am appealing to the global leaders of the world who are still outside the global efforts of the global peace summit.
“To President Biden, the leader of the United States, and to President Xi, the leader of China, we do not want the UN charter to be burned.
“Please show your leadership in advancing the peace.”
Residents evacuated from a building hit by strikes in Kharkiv on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
He added that it must be “real peace – not just a pause in the strikes” after various ceasefire breaches by the Russians.
Finally, he urged: “The efforts of the global majority are the best guarantee that all commitments will be fulfilled.”
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Shopping mall hit by strike in Kharkiv on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
Printworks and shopping centre targeted this week
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, with a pre-war population of 1.5 million people, is close to the frontline, and has been consistently targeted since the initial invasion in February 2022.
On Thursday, its ‘Vivat’ printworks, which is the country’s largest, was hit by missiles, killing seven people, and destroying an estimated 50,000 books. A further 21 people were injured, Ukrainian officials said.
On Saturday, a strike on a shopping centre killed six people, injured 40, and left a further 16 unaccounted for, local authorities said.
Elsewhere in the city, an additional 11 people were injured as a result of strikes, including a 13-year-old boy.
Just over the border, in Russia’s Belgorod region, the regional governor there said four residents died as a result of Ukrainian attacks on Saturday.
Aftermath of Russian strike on Kharkiv on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
Read more
Crowded DIY stores hit by strikes
Ukrainians training without firing due to shortages
Putin thanks Xi for his Ukraine efforts
Mr Zelenskyy warned a new Russian offensive is being planned northwest of Kharkiv.
Ukrainians and military analysts have repeatedly warned of depleting weapon supplies on the frontline.
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Earlier this month the US agreed to a further $2bn (£1.6bn) in military support for Ukraine.
It has consistently resisted calls to send US troops there, in line with NATO’s refusal for direct involvement in the conflict.
China has resisted calls by NATO and its member states to take a direct stance against Russia in support of Ukraine.
President Xi hosted Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a show of “friendship” earlier this month.
Hamas has launched rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza for the first time in months.
The barrage of rockets set off air raid sirens in cities as far away as Tel Aviv.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January, although Palestinian militants have continued to sporadically fire rockets and mortar rounds at communities along the Gaza border since then.
Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Israeli military said eight projectiles crossed into Israel after being launched from the area of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israeli forces recently launched an incursion.
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At least six newborn babies have died after a fire broke out at a children’s hospital in India, according to reports.
Firefighters said they carried 12 newborns out of the centre in the Vivek Vihar district of east New Delhi late on Saturday night, but five of them died due to smoke inhalation.
Two other infants are believed to have already died, according to local media. There are differing reports as to whether six or seven infants have been killed so far.
Another five survived and are being treated in a nearby hospital, Delhi fire department chief Atul Garg said.
The blaze, which broke out on the first floor of the hospital, was put out after about an hour.
Burnt registration cards lie on the floor of the hospital. Pic: AP
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Mr Garg told the ANI news agency that an oxygen cylinder blast was the likely cause of the fire, but there has been no official confirmation.
“It was a very tough operation,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.
“We made two teams. One team started firefighting because there was a blast of cylinders. We can say it was a chain of blasts of cylinders.
“We had to save ourselves also. We started rescue operations for babies as well. Unfortunately, we could not save all the children… That is a regrettable incident.”
The owner of the baby hospital has fled, according to Delhi police.
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister, called the fire “heartbreaking”, adding that the “causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared”.
Machines move debris after a fire in Rajkot. Pic: Reuters
Earlier on Saturday, at least 27 people were killed in a fire at a crowded amusement park in the city of Rajkot in Gujarat state in western India.
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