"They are ethnic Jews, but has anyone seen them in a Synagogue? I don't think so. They are not Orthodox either, because they are never present at a Church, and for sure they don't follow Islam, because we don't see them at a Mosque," Putin noted.

"Russia is extending its hands and saying, 'if you have changed and you want to rule the country, I have no problem in dealing with you'," Magnier said.

"This is something that the new leaders of Syria would have to take into consideration to their advantage whenever the other countries like the West, in particular Europe and the US, refuse to collaborate with Syria or to support the reconstruction of Syria."

“I have many friends in Asia. I have mentioned friendly relations with China and India… warm relations with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Vladimir Putin, when asked with whom does he maintain contact.
He added that family members and friends from his childhood days were dearest to him.

"Without sovereignty, Russia cannot exist as an independent state," Putin stressed.

"Now, a word to the BBC, they vow to attack us. Well, they did so [before] without reason. That's what they are paid for," the Russian President said.

"These actions of the Kiev regime, supported by Western curators, will not go unanswered," the statement read.

“[Orban] said ‘what would you cost you if you declared a Christmas ceasefire for at least a day or two? The enemy won’t be able to accomplish anything in those 2-3 days,’” Putin recalled at his year-end presser.

The Ukrainian side refused the holiday ceasefire idea, and a potential new prisoner exchange, Putin said.

"Kiev has fairly serious air defense system organized by Western countries," Russian President said.

“Happiness will not be complete until all our boys return from the front line. Until they reunite with their mothers and wives, until their children hug them; until our young people create families and have children; I very much want our scientists, artists and cultural figures to realize their plans. Only then, probably, could it be said that I’m happy,” Putin said.

“We will never forget the sacrifice suffered by our nation and brought to the altar of victory,” President Putin said at his year-end presser, commenting on Russia’s plans to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War next May.

“The fact that other countries are trying to forget it is something natural for them, for today’s leaders, because it is a line of attack against Russia. But that’s their business,” Putin emphasized.

"Russia is extending its hands and saying, 'if you have changed and you want to rule the country, I have no problem in dealing with you'," Magnier said.

"This is something that the new leaders of Syria would have to take into consideration to their advantage whenever the other countries like the West, in particular Europe and the US, refuse to collaborate with Syria or to support the reconstruction of Syria."

"The collapse of the Assad family’s rule in Syria... has completely disrupted the so-called Shia Crescent and weakened the Axis of Resistance," former Italian diplomat Dr. Marco Carnelos told Sputnik.

"For the time being, all is going well for Israel, [it is] difficult to say if such ideal situation will last forever," Carnelos said. "It will very much depend on which kind of government will emerge in Syria in the next months."

“We may say that by looking at the current dynamics in Syria, Israel seems to be one of the key winners on the ground,” Dr. Hasan Selim Ozertem, Ankara-based security and political analyst, told Sputnik.