MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and transitional Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa agreed in a telephone conversation to continue contacts to develop bilateral cooperation, the Kremlin press service said.
It is noted that the leaders touched upon a number of topical issues of practical cooperation in trade, economic, educational and other areas, in particular, taking into account the recent talks by the Russian interdepartmental delegation in Damascus.
"It was agreed to continue this kind of useful contacts to work out a wide agenda for the development of bilateral cooperation. The leaders' telephone conversation was constructive, businesslike and meaningful," the Kremlin said in a statement.
The current conversation is the first official high-level contact between Russia and Syria after the change of power in Damascus.
Armed opposition units in Syria launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates in late November 2024. On December 8, they entered Damascus, while President Bashar Assad stepped down and fled the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib governorate, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government, saying that the transitional period would last until March 1, 2025. The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (outlawed in Russia), Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has become Syria’s de facto new leader.