STORY: Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad visits Moscow on the twelfth anniversary of the conflict in his country, which escalated from demonstrations on March 15, 2011 to civil war. With a view to the fighting in Ukraine, Assad pledged his support to Russian President Vladimir Putin. During a televised meeting with Putin in the Kremlin, Assad said Russia was fighting neo-Nazis and “old Nazis” in Ukraine, without providing any evidence to support his statements. The West sheltered “old Nazis” during World War II and is now also supporting “new Nazis,” Assad said. Russia has repeatedly linked its invasion of Ukraine directly to the fight against Nazism. For Kiev and Western governments, these allegations are just a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. In the Syrian civil war, Russia’s military support had helped Assad turn the tide in his favor.