Rules:
Trusting a sociopath will do that to you.
I have no idea whether it was a trick. It could be that Putin just changed his mind, and now that Assad’s usefulness to him is mostly at an end, he simply didn’t see the point in getting back to him, and decided to just default to leaving him twisting in the wind.
But Assad is in Russia, so they care enough to prop him up.
Tbf, compared to the resources of the Russian government, giving some deposed dictator a place to live doesn't really cost anything noticable I'd bet. At the very least keeping him around serves as an example to other dictators considering aligning with Putin that "if things go south and you lose power, at least you have somewhere to run to."
At the very least keeping him around serves as an example to other dictators considering aligning with Putin that "if things go south and you lose power, at least you have somewhere to run to."
Ding ding ding, we have a winner! That's exactly the reason to keep Assad alive and in relative comfort. Just as enemies and "traitors" of Russia get spicy tea and fall out of windows, allies are cared for even if they lose power