During his surprise visit to Syria last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, to invite President Trump to Damascus, according to a video of a short conversation between the two leaders aired Sunday on Russia-1 television channel.
What's happening: The video shows the leaders speaking to each other during a visit to the Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Damascus. Assad tells Putin about the apostle Paul who became a Christian at the gate of Damascus and adds jokingly: "If Trump arrives along this road, everything will become normal with him too."
- Putin laughs and tells Assad: “It will be repaired … invite him. He will come.” Assad answers that he is ready to invite Trump, to which Putin responds, smiling: “I will tell him."
Асад о дороге в Дамаск, на которой стал христианином апостол Павел: Если Трамп по этой дороге проедет, сразу станет с ним все нормально.
— Дмитрий Смирнов (@dimsmirnov175) January 12, 2020
Путин: Пригласите его, он приедет.
Асад: Я готов.
Путин: Я ему передам pic.twitter.com/Gkkvd0KR1J
Go deeper: Read Axios' two-part special report on "20 Years of Putin"
