Syria’s President goes to Moscow to thank Russia

World Today

A surprise visit to Moscow by Syria’s President Bashar al Assad had the leaders of Russia and Syria discussing the conflict in Syria. Bashar al Assad thanked Russia for its air strike campaign in Syria.

One of the topics discussed was plans for top diplomats from Russia, the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Turkey to meet in Vienna this week. The talks in Vienna are aimed at finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

CCTV’s Olly Barratt reports.


Kurt Volker on Syria–Russia relationship

For more on the surprise visit to Moscow by Syria’s president, CCTV America spoke to Kurt Volker. He’s a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University. A recent report from Reuters pointed out that four fifths (about 80 percent) of Russia’s recent airstrikes in Syria so far have totally missed ISIL targets. So what is the goal of Russia’s aggressive approach? And has the U.S. done too little?