Vladimir Putin has lost his key anchor of influence in the Middle East with the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, but he seemingly knew it was coming and was chatting with new players in the region ahead of his downfall.

President Vladimir Putin says Russia has not been defeated in Syria after rebel groups ousted his ally and longtime leader, Bashar al-Assad, earlier this month. In his first public comments on the subject on Thursday,

Russian officials have been forced to issue a statement after reports emerged suggesting the wife of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was seeking a divorce.

Since the fall of his regime, the Syrian dictator has joined family and relatives who were already in Russia. For years, the Assad clan has been transferring and investing a large amount of money in Moscow.

Assad’s wife have broken their silence amid rumours the dictator is getting divorced. It comes amid growing calls for Brit-born Asma al-Assad – who stood by as

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would enquire about the whereabouts of Austin Tice, the American journalist missing in Syria, while responding to a question from an NBC correspondent at his lengthy end-of-year press conference.

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not see the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad as a defeat for his country's military, which has been stationed there since 2015. "They want to pass off the events in Syria as a defeat for Russia.

Putin has said he will ask the deposed president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, about the U.S. journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in the country 12 years ago. “I promise to ask this question,” he said in response to a question from NBC News’ Keir Simmons.

Russia's president says he should've prepared more before launching his country's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Vladimir Putin has promised to ask Bashar Al-Assad about American journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria 12 years ago - it comes after a Syrian prisoner claimed he saw Tice alive in 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the fall of ex-Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was not a "defeat" for Russia, claiming Moscow had achieved its goals in the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he hasn't yet met with exiled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad — even though he personally made the decision to grant the dictator and his family asylum when Syria's longtime dictator fled the country after his regime crumbled.