Putin convened a meeting of Russia’s Security Council on Wednesday morning to discuss Palmyra according to Russian sources. The Kremlin issued a summary of the meeting: “Participants in the meeting exchanged views on the situation around Palmyra, as well as the advances made by the Syrian Army in Aleppo.”
The Russians view the ancient heritage site of Palmyra is a key objective, and ISIS might pay a heavy price in the future for its recapture of the city.
Alexander Mercouris, an analyst, believes the meeting “has all the hallmarks of a planning meeting, with reports being solicited from the relevant military and intelligence officials concerning the situation in Palmyra – including almost certainly the officials and agents on the ground in Syria – and with a detailed discussion of the plan to retake the city.”
Turkish President Erdogan called the Russian president late in the evening on Wednesday 14th December 2016 in desperate last bid effort to get Jihadis extracted from Aleppo.
From the Kremlin’s report of their conversation: “The heads of state continued their ongoing exchange of views on Syria. In particular, they discussed the developments in Aleppo, and emphasised the need to build up joint efforts to improve the humanitarian situation and foster the start of a real political process in Syria.”
Shortly after the Kremlin’s statement, reports drawing on Jihadi sources began to circulate in the Western media that the plan for the Jihadis to withdraw from eastern Aleppo is back on track, and that the withdrawal will happen soon.
Meanwhile Forbes has ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin as the world’s most powerful person for the fourth consecutive year. Donald Trump and Angela Merkel came in second and third respectively.
“From the motherland to Syria to the US presidential elections, Russia’s leader continues to get what he wants”, reads a short explanation on the Forbes World’s Most Powerful People 2016 report.
Since 2009, Forbes has compiled an annual list of the world’s most powerful people, with one slot for every 100 million people on Earth. Slots are allocated based on the amount of human and financial resources that they hold sway over, as well as their influence on world events. There are now nearly 7.4 billion humans inhabiting planet Earth.
Thus this year’s list consist of 74 names. These 74 men and women are what “makes the world turn”. According to Forbes, Vladimir Putin has been dominating unchallenged since 2013.
