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| - Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, has been a staunch supporter of Damascus since the Syrian conflict began in 2011. Here are some of the key events of its involvement: In April 2011 -- six weeks after the start of unprecedented protests in Syria -- Russia and China veto a proposed United Nations declaration drafted by Western countries to condemn Assad's crackdown on the opposition. Then in October, Moscow and Beijing block a proposed UN Security Council resolution, also initiated by the West, to impose "targeted measures" against Assad's regime. In total, Russia has vetoed 14 draft resolutions to protect its Syrian ally from Western pressure. In September 2013, Russia and the United States agree in Geneva to a deal under which Syria's chemical weapons are to be dismantled. The accord defuses a crisis that might have led to US-led strikes against Syrian forces, which were accused of a chemical attack on August 21 near Damascus that left more than 1,400 people dead, according to Washington. In March 2015, Assad welcomes a larger Russian military presence in his country's ports. From late August, Russia has at its disposal an air base in Hmeimim in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia, an Assad stronghold. In late September 2015, Russia, at the Damascus regime's request, launches air strikes in support of Assad's troops. It is the first time that Russia has pursued major military operations abroad since Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. In October 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin ratifies an accord between Damascus and Moscow on the "indefinite" deployment of Russia's air force at the Hmeimim air base. Russian fire power turns the tables in favour of the regime, which takes the upper hand, with massive bombardments and destruction. According to Moscow, 3,000 soldiers are currently on the ground, as well as aircraft, helicopters, warships and submarines. More than 63,000 Russian soldiers have taken part in the campaign so far. In January 2017, Russia and Iran, as backers of the Syrian regime, and Turkey, supporting the rebels, organise the first talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, between representatives of both sides. Several rounds of negotiations have since taken place and have led to the creation of four so-called "de-escalation zones". The process in Astana -- recently re-named Nur-Sultan -- has progressively overshadowed the process taking place at the UN between the regime and the opposition. It has led to a drop in tensions on the ground but has not paved the way to a peaceful solution. In early 2018, Moscow proposed at a conference in Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast, bringing together delegates of the government and the opposition in a constitutional committee, charged with reforming the constitution. But it takes the UN two years to decide upon the committee's make up and workings. Despite the conflict, Russian companies have over the past few years invested in the Syrian oil, gas and mining sectors, winning contracts, including for the construction of flourmills and water pumping stations. In June 2019, the Syrian parliament adopted a draft law giving the management and expansion of the commercial port of Tartus, the country's biggest, to a Russian company for 49 years. acm-jmy/bmm
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