Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had not been defeated in Syria and that Moscow had made proposals to the new rulers in Damascus over Russia's military bases there. Putin said he had not yet met with Bashar al Assad but planned to meet him and said he would ask about the fate of missing U.

Moscow achieved its goals in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed during his annual press conference and a call-in program on Dec. 19. following the collapse of dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime. Commenting on the fall of Assad's regime for the first time, Putin said Russia invaded Syria to prevent the creation of "a terrorist enclave."

In his first comments from exile in Moscow, the deposed dictator pushes back against criticism that he abandoned supporters.

Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.

In an hourlong televised meeting with his top military brass, Vladimir Putin left Syria unmentioned and made it clear that winning in Ukraine was his top priority.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied on Thursday that Russia's nine-year intervention in Syria had been a failure, but expressed concern about Israel's military operations there since the toppling of his ally Bashar al-Assad.