After living in Moscow for a couple of years on the cusp of Putin‘s era, Russian affairs were always on my radar. I followed closely again since the 2011 Syrian revolution and Putin's new role as kingmaker. For me, Putin is a bit different from the one I often see described. Since the invasion of Ukraine, I find myself disagreeing with some comments on Putin’s alleged state of mind, expectations, or position. I wish I could believe that he now feels cornered and taken aback by events, but I don’t – quite the opposite, in fact.

Today's meeting between #France President Emmanuel Macron and #Russia President Vladimir Putin reminded me of the latter's meeting with another French president, 15 years ago, in circumstances revealed later which shocked many in France but didn't get much airplay abroad. 1/8 In 2007, during the G8, French President Nicolas Sarkozy came out of a meeting with Vladimir Putin to face journalists at a scheduled press conference. He shocked everyone when he stumbled & grinned without reason, struggling for words as he held on tightly to the podium. 2/8

Nearly 10 years on, with enough evidence to the contrary to fill history books for decades, I have just heard "experts" still speaking of an imaginary US push for regime change in #Syria and explaining that this has to stop. They are devastated that American sanctions are what's really hurting the nice Syrian people who don't seem to have suffered a bit from Assad's barrel bombs, chemical weapons of mass destruction, mass displacement, relentless Russian airstrikes ...

20 years ago today, I was at a Damascus hair salon when an assistant rushed to tell us Hafez Assad had died. What I saw and lived in the next days and years is set in stone in my memory. This thread is but a glimpse of life in #Syria then and the slow descent into implosion. /1 Hafez started preparing the ground for 2nd son Bashar in 1994 when original heir Bassel was killed in a car crash. While Bashar's meteoric rise in army ranks and early public appearances in late 90s prepared people, Hafez was busy clearing regime ranks of potential contenders. /2