Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, yesterday, having travelled on Putin’s own invitation. In a brief press conference before the meeting started, the Syrian president said he hoped Syria and Russia would restart their complex relationship. Vladimir Putin said Russia has always conducted its relations with Syria in the interests of the Syrian people, not Russia’s.
Russia operated several bases in Syria including a much coveted naval base in Tartus during the rule of Bashar al-Assad. Russia also supported Bashar al-Assad’s regime with military and weapons supported and used to bomb the current Syrian President’s rebel forces in Idlib on a regular basis. Bashar al-Assad then fled to Moscow upon the toppling of his regime in Damascus. The Syrian State currently has a pending arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad and President Sharaa has formally requested Russia to hand over Assad to the Syrian authorities.
There was no public agreement following the meeting and probably, Russia expects significant concessions from Syria in exchange for Assad. Russia no longer has a significant military presence in Syria after withdrawing most of its military hardware out of the country, and the port of Tartus is now fully under the Syrian government’s control. However, Russia still retains control of its air-base in Latakia (Hmeimim Air Base). Earlier this year, the Syrian government banned the trade of Russian goods and entry of Russian tourists into the country but cooperation between the two countries on the energy and electricity sectors are still ongoing.
President Ahemd al-Sharaa also met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the United Nations General Assembly and formalised ties with Ukraine for the first time in history.
Newsroom
Leave a Reply