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Putin shakes hands with al-Sharaa before start of meeting in Kremlin

After the meeting, the Russian and Syrian leaders will continue negotiations during a working breakfast

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa

© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has exchanged a firm handshake with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who arrived in Moscow on a working visit.

The Russian delegation includes Aide to the Russian leader Yury Ushakov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Construction Minister Irek Faizullin, Head of the Main Directorate (formerly known as the GRU) of the General Staff of the Russian army Igor Kostyukov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Maxim Oreshkin, First Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, head of the Federal Customs Service Dmitry Shugayev.

After the meeting, Putin and al-Sharaa will continue negotiations during a working breakfast. The agenda includes relations between Russia and Syria, as well as the situation in the Middle East.

The last meeting of the leaders of the two countries took place in the Kremlin just over three months ago, when al-Sharaa visited Moscow for the first time after coming to power in Damascus. The leaders of Russia and Syria then talked for 2.5 hours.

The current visit takes place on the eve of the anniversary of the proclamation of al-Sharaa as interim president, which took place on January 29.

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