FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses troops at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria on Dec. 11, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Syrian President Bashar Assad watch troops marching at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria, on Dec. 11, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Members of the Syrian diaspora wave while flying the Syrian opposition flag at the Syrian Embassy, in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Syrian opposition fighters celebrate after the Syrian government collapsed in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
FILE - An opposition fighter riding a motorcycle steps on a broken bust of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad, in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - A Syrian woman kisses a poster of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a pro-government protest at the Russian Embassy in Damascus, Syria on March 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman, File)
FILE - A Syrian opposition fighter sits inside an office at the Presidential Palace after the Syrian government collapsed in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, embraces Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, on Nov. 21, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Syrian soldiers prepare to take part in military exercises led by Russian advisers at a base outside Damascus, Syria, on Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - A Russian warplane lands at Hemeimeem air base in Syria on Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Nataliya Vasilyeva, File)
FILE - Opposition fighters celebrate as a military court burns in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - The Russian missile ship, the Veliky Ustyug, sails from the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria, in the eastern Mediterranean, on Sept. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on July 24, 2024. (Valery Sharifulin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided Nov. 9, 2019, by the official Syrian news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks in Damascus, Syria. (SANA via AP, File)
FILE - Smoke billows in the background as residents and opposition fighters celebrate in a central square after opposition forces took control of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Syrian President Bashar Assad light candles while visiting an orthodox cathedral for Christmas, in Damascus, Syria, Jan. 7, 2020. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian soldiers distribute food and other supplies to residents in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, on Sept. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, chats with Russian pilots at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria, on Dec. 11, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)