Vladimir Putin said he has not seen the deposed Syrian ruler since he fled Damascus for the Russian capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is not defeated in Syria after a rebel group overthrew his ally and long-time leader. Bashar al-Assadearlier this month.

In his first public comments on the subject on Thursday, Putin said he had not yet met with Syria’s former ruler. run away to the Russian capital, but he “will definitely speak to him” and plans to meet him in Moscow.

He mentioned he would ask Assad about the fate of the missing American journalist Austin TiceThe White House described its release as a “top priority.”

Speaking at his annual end-of-year news conference, Putin also dismissed suggestions that Russia had suffered losses from the collapse of the Syrian government. Russia intervened in Syria in 2015 and turned the tide of the Syrian civil war in Assad’s favor. former regime.

“You want to describe what is happening in Syria as a failure of Russia,” Putin said. “I assure you, this is not … we have achieved our goal.”

He said Russia intervened in Syria to “prevent the establishment of terrorist enclaves there” and that “it is not without reason that many European countries and the United States today want to establish relations with them (Syria’s new rulers)”.

“We maintain relations with all the organizations that control the situation on the ground and with all countries in the region,” Putin continued. “The vast majority of countries told us that they would be interested in our military bases remaining in Syria,” he added.

He said Russia was willing to maintain bases there “for humanitarian purposes.” He also admitted to evacuating 4,000 Iranian fighters after the fall of Assad’s government.

Russian-Ukrainian War

On the topic of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Putin said he was ready to discuss the possibility of a compromise with US President-elect Donald Trump.

He said he was willing to meet with Trump “any time.”

“I don’t know when I’m going to see him. He hasn’t said anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him in over four years. Of course, I’m ready. Any time,” he said.

Putin also touted what he said was the invincibility of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which Russia has test-launched at a Ukrainian military factory, and said he was prepared to organize another launch in Ukraine to see if Western air defense systems It can be shot down.

“Let them identify some destruction targets, like in Kiev, concentrate all the air and missile defense forces there, and we will strike there together with Oreshnik and see what happens,” he said.

“We are ready for such an experiment, but is the other side ready?”