Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi May 17. The brief visit comes amid escalations between Iran and Israel in Syria as well as further gains by the Syrian army in opposition-held areas.

As Al-Monitor reported on May 10, following the May 9 visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Moscow, “a high-level visitor or two from Syria or Iran” had been expected in Russia “rather soon.” On May 14, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Three days later, Assad, accompanied by his defense minister, Ali Abdullah Ayyoub, arrived in Sochi. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Lavrov were both present at the meeting with Putin.

Assad and Putin had last met on Dec. 11, 2017, when the Russian leader visited the Khmeimim air base. A few weeks earlier, on Nov. 20, Assad had met with Putin in Sochi, where he was introduced to the senior leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry and chief of staff as well as other key military figures with decisive roles in Russia’s Syria campaign.

The Syrian president's brief visit to Sochi this time was announced by the Kremlin after Assad had already returned to Damascus. Putin congratulated Assad on the start of the holy month of Ramadan and praised the “major success of the Syrian Government Army in the struggle against terrorist units,” describing recent military efforts as “important steps toward the further consolidation of the legitimate government.” Putin called the military gains instrumental in creating “additional conditions … for the resumption of the full political process.” This is what Moscow is now pushing Damascus to focus on, and not without moderate success if the perception manifested at the talks is accurate.