Putin 'promises' to ask Assad for help in finding Austin Tice following letter from mother

"We understand what the situation was and 12 years ago acts of hostilities were ongoing from both sides. Does President Assad himself know what happened to that U.S. citizen, a journalist who performed his journalistic duty in a combat area?" he asked before giving a shrug.

"Nonetheless, I do promise that I will ask this question to him," he added. 

Putin's comments came after Debra Tice on Wednesday appealed to the Kremlin chief in a letter to help find her son who went missing after he was detained in Damascus in August 2012.

The Syrian government for more than a decade refused to negotiate the release of Tice, who was abducted while reporting on the uprising against the Assad regime during the early stages of the Syrian civil war, which ultimately ended earlier this month after the Syrian president was ousted and fled to Moscow. 

"We would, of course, be willing to travel to Moscow or any other place on Earth to put our arms around our precious Austin and bring him home safely," she added. 

In an interview with NBC News, Debra defended her decision to write to the authoritarian leader, one of the U.S.' chief adversaries, and said, "Of course I am reaching out to powerful people, so they can help us."

"Russia has had a port there in Latakia forever, so I do think they have the ability to know what's going on the ground. We are still trying to find out where he is," she emphasized. 

The State Department has escalated its efforts to find Tice following the fall of the Assad regime, including by offering a $10 million reward for information relating to his release.

"We have fanned out everywhere with every possible source, every possible actor who might be able to get information," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in his interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe," in a transcript sent out by the State Department. "This involves anyone and everyone who has some relationship with the different rising authorities in Syria. We've been in direct contact with them ourselves. We have other partners on the ground, and we're looking at getting on the ground ourselves as quickly as we can.