Syria’s Defence Minister was seemingly insulted by the Russian military last week, which prevented him from accompanying the Commander of Russian forces in Syria at a ceremony.

On Sunday, the Syrian Defence Minister, Ali Mahmoud Abbas, and the Commander of Russian forces in Syria, Alexander Cheko, participated in a ceremony commemorating the Russian Navy Day at the Syrian port of Tartous.

In a video clip published by the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Abbas was seen to be prevented by a Russian soldier from following Cheko on to the main deck of a vessel, where a parade was being held. Ali Abbas was then left to stand amongst soldiers in the background.

The incident is not the first time an official of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime has been humiliated by its Russian ally and patron, with even President Assad himself having famously been prevented by a Russian officer from walking with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017, following Putin’s arrival at the Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian province of Lattakia.