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)
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Almost exactly seven years ago, President Vladimir Putin stood with Russian troops at their air base in Syria and proudly declared victory over “terrorists” in that country as part of the Kremlin’s military intervention to prop up the government of Bashar Assad amid a
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