Presidency of Hafez al-Assad

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian leader Bashar Assad in the Kremlin on Wednesday for talks that focused on rebuilding Syria after a devastating civil war and efforts to stabilize the region.

The United States on June 17 imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's wife and dozens of others as it vowed a vast pressure campaign under a new law that has already rattled the war-torn nation's economy.

Foreign ministers of several countries welcomed the launch of talks in Geneva on Syria's Constitutional Committee.

Stopping attacks by the Syrian regime is the responsibility of Russia and Iran as guarantor states of peace, Turkey's foreign minister said on June 16, hours after an Assad regime attack on a Turkish observation post in northwestern Syria.       

On April 22, a prisoner swap between the Assad regime and Syria's armed opposition took place as part of the Astana process, according to Turkey's Foreign Ministry.     

Opposition authorities are issuing new ID cards in northern Syria with help from neighboring Turkey, expanding their administration over territory that remains outside President Bashar al-Assad's expanding area of control.

Israel could respond to any Iranian attack on it from Syria by toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, an Israeli security cabinet minister said on May 7, hinting that Assad himself may be targeted for assassination.

Israel's defense minister said on Tuesday President Bashar al-Assad was winning Syria's civil war and urged the United States to weigh in as Damascus's Iranian and Hezbollah allies gain ground.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Aug. 28 that Iran is building sites to produce precision-guided missiles in Syria and Lebanon, with the aim of using them against Israel.

The banknote features Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's portrait and there are already several theories as to what this might mean for the ongoing civil war between Assad's government and domestic opposition forces.