Vladimir Putin let Bashar al-Assad's regime fall in Syria
Putin was already cultivating new relationships in the region
Just 12 hours before the fall of Damascus -- Russia, Iran and Türkiye met on the sidelines of the Doha Forum Top of the agenda: the impending collapse of the Syrian regime
The trio were trying to determine if Bashar al-Assad's government was salvageable
The three countries issued a strong statement calling,
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for the "preservation of Syria's territorial integrity" and for "negotiations" between rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Bashar al-Assad
But by this point, the diplomats most likely knew it was all over
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said,
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Extracts: “We are trying to not allow terrorists to prevail, even if they say they are no longer terrorists"
