Syria
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right). Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, Damascus’s state news agency reported, adding that the visit is part of ongoing efforts to “restore bilateral relations” between the two countries. This marks Sharaa’s first official visit to Russia since the ouster of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad - a former ally of Moscow.
Citing the Syrian presidency, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) relayed Wednesday that Sharaa is set to carry out “an official visit today [Wednesday] to the Russian Federation” and “meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
The visit is “part of restoring bilateral relations between the two countries and discussing political and economic cooperation files,” the state-run agency elaborated, adding that Sharaa and Putin are set “to discuss regional and international developments of mutual interest and explore ways to develop cooperation to serve the common interests of the two countries.”
The visit’s program also includes a meeting with representatives of the Syrian diaspora in Russia, SANA noted.
For its part, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported Wednesday that Sharaa's visit follows the “first top-level contact between Moscow and Damascus” that occurred in February, when the two leaders “discussed the situation in Syria over the phone.”
Putin then stressed “that Russia remained committed to Syria’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” and reiterated that Moscow was ready to continue helping Damascus in its efforts to improve the socio-economic situation in the country, TASS said.
The key visit notably comes less than two weeks after a Syrian defense ministry delegation arrived in Moscow in early October to discuss defense coordination between the two countries.
In a statement on its official Telegram channel, the Syrian defense ministry then said the visit falls in the context of “developing coordination mechanisms between the ministries of defense of the two countries.”
Following a swift offensive, a coalition of opposition groups, headed by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - then led by Sharaa - toppled the Assad regime in early December.
Less than 24 hours later, TASS reported that “Assad, along with members of his family, has arrived in Moscow. Russia, based on humanitarian considerations, has granted them asylum.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed back then that Putin had personally ordered the decision to grant asylum to the deposed leader and his family. “Of course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state. It is his [Putin's] decision,” Peskov told reporters, declining to elaborate on Assad's exact whereabouts.
The visit also comes as Sharaa - since his late January appointment as Syrian interim president - has repeatedly called for the extradition of Assad from Russia to face trial for crimes he is accused of committing during his rule.
In April, Sharaa said that Syrian officials had explicitly requested Moscow to hand over Assad, making the extradition of the toppled dictator and other high-ranking regime officials a condition for fully restoring relations with Russia.
A Syrian court in late September issued an arrest warrant for Assad over his role in the deadly 2011 crackdown in Syria’s southwestern Daraa province, citing charges including premeditated murder and torture resulting in death.
During a visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to Damascus in September, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani acknowledged the historically strong relationship between the two nations but noted it had “lacked balance.”
During a prior visit to Moscow in July, Shaibani called for Russia’s “sincere cooperation in supporting the path of transitional justice in Syria”.
However, in spite of the repeated requests, Moscow has thus far rejected any extradition of Assad, whom it supported militarily throughout the Syrian civil war.
Notably, Sharaa’s visit to Moscow was also expected to include his participation in a key Arab-Russia summit originally scheduled for Wednesday, October 15. However, the Kremlin announced Saturday that the summit has been postponed to November, without specifying a date, citing the busy schedules of Arab leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
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