Bashar al-Assad seizes his chance for a comeback after Syrian earthquake

Arab neighbours who snubbed president for waging a war against his own people are courting him. What is behind the new attitude?

Walking through Aleppo in Syria last month, Bashar al-Assad did not look like a man shouldering the fate of a nation.

As he posed for photos with locals, who queued to meet him inspecting damage from the earthquake that had devastated parts of northern Syria, Assad appeared to show as much relief as concern for victims. The country’s grinning leader seemed to realise a moment had finally arrived.