Video footage obtained by Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya shows deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his former adviser Luna al-Shibl (rumored to be his lover) mocking Russian president Vladimir Putin in private conversations.
The channel published exclusive clips of Assad and al-Shibl discussing international politicians and events inside Syria in a dismissive, sardonic tone. The date of the recordings was not specified.
The tapes shed new light on Assad’s relationships with his inner circle and, in particular, with President Putin - the principal foreign patron of his former regime, Al Arabiya reported.
In one video clip, Luna al-Shibl - who died in a car crash in July 2024 - sneers at the Russian president’s appearance: “Have you seen how puffy Putin is?” Assad answers briefly: “It’s all procedures.” The adviser adds: “Yes, for Putin everything is procedures. He’s 65… that clip really exposed him.”
In another excerpt, she comments on Syrian troops: “They look me straight in the face… I love them, but they disgust me.”
Al Arabiya’s sources say the recordings were made in a car, with Amjad Issa, al-Shibl’s aide, seated next to Assad.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in December last year, and he was forced to flee to Russia - the same country that backed him for years during the civil war. Journalists now believe the former Syrian ruler is living in Moscow.
On October 15, former al-Qaeda leader and now Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa held talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
