All right, Alexander, let's talk about what is going on in Syria,

specifically the phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin

and Al-Al-Sharah, not Jolani anymore.

It's Al-Sharah, right?

That's right.

Yeah, name change.

That happened a couple of days ago.

And according to the Kremlin readouts, it was a very

constructive call. And it looks like the Russians will be keeping their presence in Syria.

I imagine Putin speaking to Al Jolani slash al-Sharah, his new name with the suit and tie and his new look,

his new image, new clothes, new name, self-appointed president.

But I imagine it's really Erdogan that's deciding all of this in the backgrounds, right?

I mean, that's who's really deciding what's happening in Syria,

or no. That is exactly what is happening. I mean, Al-Shara, as he now calls himself, or Al-Jalani,

as he used to call himself. I believe that Al-Al-Sharah was his original, he's given name.

Al-Jalani was just one of the many names that he's used at various times in his career

as a jihadi fighter, as a friend of al-Baghdadi,

as a person who was involved in all kinds of interesting and things,

which, of course, we're not supposed to worry too much about today.

Anyway, Al-Sharah, Al-Jalani, is basically, as we've discussed in previous programs,

Erdogan's viceroy in Damascus.

It was Erdogan who put him there.

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