Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Moscow has begun to turn its back on Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime, the London-based Arabic daily A-Sharq al-Awsat reported on Sunday.

According to the report based on Western and Arab sources, primarily in the Gulf, Russia is consolidating its new position based on contacts with Gulf states, in an attempt to halt the economic sanctions with which it has been contending since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis.

Read full story at Haaretz.