Russia celebrated on March 18 the fifth anniversary of what Moscow considers the return of Crimea to the fatherland and what most other nations see as annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine. Over its five years under Russian rule, Crimea has come to play an important role for Russian foreign activities, including as a hosting venue for international events. One such event, the fifth Yalta International Economic Forum, is scheduled for April 17-21.

The program of the forum initially featured none other than Bashar al-Assad himself — a rare occasion of foreign travel by the Syrian president being announced months ahead of time. Later, however, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad said that Assad would likely be unable to attend the forum. Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Vershinin commented that “Syrian partners have already taken a major, substantial part” in the last event, and the level at which the country will be represented again is still “up to the president of Syria personally.”

Considering Russia's soft tone, Assad’s decision would have drawn hardly any attention if it hadn’t been for months of PR activity in the Russian media and blogosphere.

Back in October, Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksenov, leading the region’s delegation in Damascus, had personally invitated the Syrian president to the forum. Three months later, Dmitry Belik, the representative of Sevastopol in the Russian legislature who had been a member of that delegation, announced that Assad had expressed his wish to visit Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.