Syria’s Assad Visits ‘Front line’ Soldiers Outside Rebel Holdout

(Bloomberg) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited government troops outside the last rebel bastion of Idlib close to the Turkish border.

Read more: Who’s Still Fighting and Why in Syria’s 8-Year War

Al-Assad visited “frontline troops” in the town of Hobait on the outskirts of Idlib, according to the Syrian presidency’s Twitter account. It didn’t say when the visit took place.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military is backing Assad’s, is set to meet later Tuesday with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss what could happen next in Syria. Assad suggested there was little room for compromise.

Read: Turkey Says Militants Pulling Out of Buffer Zone: Syria Update

“Erdogan is a thief, he stole plants, wheat and oil. Today he is stealing the land,” Assad said. “The first thing we did when the aggression began in the north was communicate with various political and military forces on the ground. We were ready to support anyone who resists, if we hadn’t done that then we don’t deserve our homeland.”

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