Syria’s al-Sharaa to hold talks with Putin on first visit to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Wednesday with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will be on a working visit to Moscow, the Kremlin said.

It is the Syrian leader’s first visit to Russia since Moscow’s longtime ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels led by Sharaa last year.

A Syrian foreign ministry official confirmed the visit and Sharaa’s meeting with Putin, noting that “economic and political issues and the status of Russian military bases in Syria are on the agenda”.

Russia’s naval base in Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim, both on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, are Moscow’s only official military outposts outside the former Soviet Union.

Moscow had used the bases extensively during its intervention in the Syrian civil war on Assad’s side in 2015, with heavy air bombardments of rebel-held areas. 

Sharaa was supposed to participate in a Russian-Arab summit to be held on Wednesday, but Moscow postponed it as many Arab leaders due to attend were involved in the implementation of the United States’ ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip, which went into effect on Friday.

Syria’s new Islamist rulers have sought peaceful relations with Russia despite the latter’s former alliance with Assad.

In July, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani was the first senior Syrian official of the new administration to visit Russia.

In January, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and a delegation made the first trip to Syria by Russian officials after the toppling of Assad.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AFP)