Syria's state media today praised Vladimir Putin's speech before the UN General Assembly in which the Russian leader defended Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Syrian newspapers said the speech drew "clear outlines" for what is needed to "fight terrorism" on a global level.
In his address yesterday in New York, Putin urged the world to stick with Assad, saying it was a "huge mistake" not to engage the Syrian military in the fight against the Islamic State group.
The Al-Baath daily of Assad's ruling party said the essence of the Russian plan for combating terrorism is "simple and clear." Al-Baath added that "the Russian step is pivotal in the history of the region and the world to prevent the expansion of devastation."
The daily Al-Thawra said Putin entered the United Nations "from the Syrian gate," adding that "the Russian surgeon came to fix flabbiness in the international legitimacy."
Al-Thawra said Putin struck in his speech at "American charlatanism about fighting terrorism."
US President Barack Obama and Putin held their first formal meeting in more than two years in New York yesterday without reaching a breakthrough on Syria, which has strained their already tense relationship.
The US still insists Syria's future cannot include Assad, while Putin appears keen to bolster the standing of his longtime ally, casting Assad's government as the best defense against Islamic State militants.
Moscow has been ramping up its involvement in Syria in recent weeks by ferrying weapons, troops and supplies to an airport near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia in what the US sees as preparations for setting up an air base there.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Russia's presence in Syria is near the coast, far from Israel. But he said Israel will not tolerate advanced weapons reaching Lebanon's militant Hezbollah, which has fought alongside Syrian troops.
Yaalon said Israeli warplanes yesterday targeted two Syrian artillery guns suspected of shelling inside the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
He said Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Putin that "we are not involved and we don't have any interest to intervene in the civil war in Syria, but we have to keep our interests.
