A reckoning in post-Assad Syria

FILE — A defaced portrait of President Vladimir Putin on the ground at an abandoned Russian military base at the airport in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. A delegation of Russian diplomats arrived last Tuesday in a caravan of white SUVs for a summit in Damascus and an unenviable assignment: lay the groundwork for Russia to keep its military bases in Syria, less than two months after rebels had toppled Moscow’s preferred strongman, Bashar al-Assad. (Ivor Prickett/The New York Times)

A DELEGATION of Russian diplomats arrived in Damascus in early February, their mission both urgent and unenviable: securing Russia’s military presence in Syria after Moscow’s long-time ally, Bashar Assad, was ousted by rebel forces.

Less than two months after Assad’s downfall, the Kremlin’s envoys faced a stark reality — negotiating with a new Syrian leadership that had endured years of Russian airstrikes.