UNITED NATIONS, April 18. /TASS/. Russian troops stay put at their bases in Syria, as Moscow is holding talks with the government in Damascus, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told reporters.
"Our servicemen stay where they were. We are talking to the current Syrian government," he said to a question about the Russian military presence in the Arab country.
Syria’s armed opposition units started a major offensive on government troops at the end of November and entered Damascus on December 8. Bashar Assad resigned as president and left the country.
The de facto leader of Syria is now Ahmad al-Sharaa, also known under his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads a group called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (banned in Russia). On January 29 he declared himself the country’s interim president for a period that he said could last four to five years.