0754GMT//Putin hosts Syrian leader at the Kremlin; Trumps says India to stop buying Russian oil; Russian 'foreign leader' label now fast-tracked

PUTIN HOSTS SYRIAN LEADER: Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian Pres. Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Kremlin for talks that focused on the status of Russian air bases in Syria. Less than a year ago, al-Sharaa defeated the Russia-backed forces of Bashar al-Assad. Putin has given al-Assad, who is accused of war crimes and killing thousands of people, asylum. (COMMENT: Watching al-Shara'a in the Kremlin talking to Putin is an insight into the Kremlin's 'realpolitik' approach to foreign affairs. The Kremlin is able to adapt and manoeuvre quickly to changing world affairs. Ten months ago, Russian warplanes were bombing al-Shara'a's forces, but the Kremlin's air base and naval port are critical for it to project influence in the Mediterranean and in Africa. It wants to maintain them and this means patching up relations with its former enemy.)

Analysts said that the Kremlin had been discussing helping al-Sharaa upgrade the "combat effectiveness" of his army. (COMMENT: This would be a major step for the Kremlin. It has not been confirmed that upgrading the Syrian army is part of the negotiations. Instead, the Kremlin has insisted that the future of its two military bases in Syria is the main topic of conversation.)

Reuters reported that al-Sharaa had intended to ask Putin to extradite al-Assad to Syria. (COMMENT: A handful of Russian media said that al-Sharaa intended to ask for al-Assad to be extradited, but no media linked to the Kremlin has reported this. In any case, it is highly unlikely that the Kremlin would agree to sending al-Assad back to Syria to face trial for his various crimes.)

TRUMP SAYS INDIA TO STOP RUSSIAN OIL PURCHASES: Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Indian PM Narendra Modi had promised that he wouldn't buy any more oil from Russia. "I was unhappy with India buying [Russian] oil. Today, he [Modi] assured me that they will not buy oil from Russia. This is a big step. Now we are going to force China to do the same," Trump told reporters at the White House. (COMMENT: Since the start of the war in Ukraine in Feb. 2022, India has become Russia's biggest buyer of oil. In August, Trump signed a law imposing an extra 25% import tax on Indian products because India continued to buy oil from Russia. Indian companies, though, had said that they would stick with plans to buy oil from Russia. If India does now cancel plans to buy oil from Russia, it will undermine both the Russian economy and the Kremlin's kudos abroad.)

'FOREIGN AGENTS' LABEL IS FAST-TRACKED: Russia made it easier for the state to label troublesome anti-war and pro-West activists as "foreign agents". Under a law change, the authorities are now only required to fine people once, rather than twice, before slapping them with a "foreign agents" label. (COMMENT: This is an important step. The "foreign agents" label has become the stigma of the war. It means that people slapped with the "foreign agents" label are likely to be out of work, perhaps socially ostracised and find it harder to open bank accounts. It's also another step towards a custodial sentence. Cutting the number of fines to one before being slapped with the "foreign agents" label makes it far easier for the authorities to dish them out.)

SWAN LAKE STREET SINGER ARRESTED: Police in St Petersburg have arrested a street musician for singing an anti-Putin song. Video of Diana Loginova, 18, went viral on Russian social media channels. She was filmed singing the lyrics of a banned song by the Swan Lake Cooperative. The lyrics go: “I want to watch the ballet, let the swans dance. Let the old man shake in fear for his lake." (COMMENT: The Swan Lake ballet became a symbol of the collapse of the Soviet Union because it was played on state TV uninterrupted during a coup attempt in 1991. Also, the Ozero was an area outside St Petersburg where Putin and his associates built dachas in the 1990s. Ozero is the Russian word for lake.)