Va. legislator in Damascus touts Syrians’ ‘love’ for Assad and his army, state-run media reports

Washington Post

The Virginia state senator who met with Bashar al-Assad two years ago returned to Damascus, where on Wednesday, the state news service reported that the lawmaker was impressed by the "love" of the Syrian people for their president's leadership and army.... David Daoud, a research analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran, took note of Black's visit, tweeting "Virginia State Senator Richard Black met with Bashar al-Assad in Syria today" along with a photo that appears to show Black sitting with Assad and another man. In 2014, Black wrote a letter of praise to Assad, which the Syrian president posted on Facebook. He followed that with a visit to Damascus in 2016.