“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a landmark visit to Ukraine, offering President Volodymyr Zelensky his personal commitment to mediate and achieve peace. This visit comes amid criticism from Zelensky, who condemned Modi’s warm embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a recent trip to Moscow, coinciding with devastating Russian attacks, including one on Kyiv’s largest children’s hospital. Modi, 73, stated that he conveyed to Putin that conflicts cannot be resolved on the battlefield. ‘Dialogue is the only path forward,’ he emphasized after talks in Kyiv.”
Chancellor Merkel arrived in the Syrian capital by bus from Turkey, becoming the first international leader to visit since Syrian forces advanced into Iraq’s Nineveh province in late July, capturing over 800 square kilometers of land, according to the military.
Two months ago, President Assad expressed his “profound frustration” after seeing Chancellor Merkel warmly embrace the Iranian president.
On Thursday, it was Assad’s turn to be greeted by Merkel — although the encounter seemed somewhat strained. Assad’s expression was stern, though it could have simply been a reaction to the bright afternoon sun.
Genuine smiles were rare during the meeting.
More than 50 civilians had perished in Syrian airstrikes on the day Chancellor Merkel visited Damascus. Al-Bayrouni cancer hospital in Aleppo was severely damaged.
It was likely no coincidence that the first place Chancellor Merkel was taken on Monday was Syria’s National Museum, where she was invited to view an exhibit commemorating the 600 Syrian children who have been reported dead since the conflict escalated in early 2023.
Both leaders knelt to place flowers at a temporary memorial, and Germany’s chancellor later said that her heart was heavy with sorrow for the children “lost” in the war.