Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa during their meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow. AP
It is al-Sharaa’s second visit in less than four months, after he first visited Russia in October. He led a swift rebel offensive in December 2024 that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad, who had long relied on Moscow’s support during Syria’s devastating civil war.
Russia has maintained only a small military contingent in Syria and later granted asylum to Assad and his family after he fled the country.
Despite having been on opposite sides during the civil war, the interim government in Damascus has signalled readiness to develop ties with Moscow, apparently in the hope that Russia could help rebuild the war-shattered country and provide a way to diversify its foreign policy.
For the Kremlin, it is essential to retain its naval and air bases on Syria’s coast — the only such outposts outside the former Soviet Union and crucial for maintaining Russia’s military presence in the Mediterranean. Russian officials have voiced hope of negotiating a deal to keep the Hmeimim air base and the naval outpost in Tartus.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the meeting that “all issues related to our military’s presence in Syria will be discussed in the talks.”
In recent days, Russian forces have begun pulling back from positions in northeastern Syria, in an area still controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, after the group lost most of its territory in an offensive by government forces.
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