http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/27/bashar-al-assad-visits-russian-air-base-syria-us-warning/
Bashar al-Assad visits Russian air base in Syria after US warning - [image: Syrian President Bashar Assad climbing into the cockpit of a Russian SU-35 fighter jet as he inspects the Russian Hmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Syria, Tuesday, June 27, 2017] Syrian President Bashar Assad climbing into the cockpit of a Russian SU-35 fighter jet as he inspects the Russian Hmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Syria, Tuesday, June 27, 2017 Credit: Syrian Presidency via Facebook - Our Foreign Staff <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/our-foreign-staff/> 27 June 2017 • 9:06pm Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited a Russian air base at Hmeymim in western Syria on Tuesday, his first visit to the base from which Russian jets have played a crucial role in support of his war effort. Photos circulated showed the Syrian leader in the cockpit of a Russian Sukhoi SU-35 warplane. He inspected weapons, personnel and armoured vehicles at the base near Latakia. He was accompanied by Russian chief of staff General Valery Gerasimov, state news agency SANA reported. [image: Syrian President Bashar Assad climbing into the cockpit of a Russian SU-35 fighter jet as he inspects the Russian Hmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Syria, Tuesday, June 27, 2017]Syrian President Bashar Assad climbing into the cockpit of a Russian SU-35 fighter jet as he inspects the Russian Hmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Syria, Tuesday, June 27, 2017 Credit: Syrian Presidency via Facebook ADVERTISING "The Syrian people will not forget that its Russian brothers stood next to them in this national war," Assad wrote in a visitors' book at the base, SANA reported. The base has been at the heart of Moscow's military effort in support of Assad since 2015, when the Russian air force began bombing insurgents who were threatening his grip on power. Assad has also been backed in the war by Iran. Assad has been touring areas north and northwest of Damascus in recent days, a rare trip out of his seat of power in the capital that has reflected his confidence, with his military position seemingly unassailable in western Syria. On Sunday he performed Eid prayers in the city of Hama, the first time he has visited the city since the start of the conflict. Assad has also visited wounded soldiers in the Hama countryside, accompanied by his wife Asma and children, state media reported on Tuesday. [image: Syrian President Bashar Assad inspects the Russian Hmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Syria, Tuesday, June 27, 2017] Syrian President Bashar Assad inspects the Russian Hmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Syria, Tuesday, June 27, 2017 Credit: Syrian Presidency via Facebook The visit came after the US warned that the Syrian leadership will pay a heavy price for any chemical weapons attack. The White House said late on Monday the preparations in Syria were similar to actions before an April 4 chemical attack which killed dozens of civilians and prompted US President Donald Trump to order a missile strike on a Syrian air base. But Russia challenged the US intelligence. "I am not aware of any information about a threat that chemical weapons can be used," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. "Certainly, we consider such threats to the legitimate leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic unacceptable." Russian officials have privately described the war in Syria as the biggest source of tension between Moscow and Washington, and the cruise missile strike ordered by Trump in April raised the risk of confrontation between them.
