The secret talks between Syria’s new leaders and the Kremlin
They are negotiating with Russia about its military presence
At the entrance to Khmeimim air base in western Syria, a portrait of Vladimir Putin keeps watch. A Russian soldier offers a salute to a convoy arriving from Homs. In recent days, the Kremlin has withdrawn hundreds of troops and military vehicles from other parts of Syria, in a mad scramble to consolidate forces at Khmeimim.
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