Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking on CNN, questioned whether Medvedev’s promises of a pullout can be trusted.

“First, his troops were going to be out on Monday, then his troops were going to be out on Wednesday, now his troops are going to be out on Friday,” Rice said. “I’m beginning to wonder if the Russian president is ever going to keep his word, or can he keep his word, or what is going on there?”
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is visiting Russia, said he “understands” Russia’s military response in Georgia.
“ We think this was a reaction to a provocation from the Georgian side.”

“We would like once more to express our support for the Russian position in the recent conflict and the situation around Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Assad said during a meeting with Medvedev in Sochi. “We understand the essence of the Russian position. The position is clear and logical.”

Obama Adviser Meets With Syria

Tony Badran, an expert on Lebanon and Syria for the Defense of Democracies, was not surprised Kurtzer was meeting with the Syrians. He likened the meeting to other informal lobbying efforts done on Syria’s behalf.

“It’s not a secret that the Syrians are openly banking on Barack Obama,” Badran told the Sun.