MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. President Vladimir Putin's message on Russia’s future course in Syria at the end of the year was quite neutral, while the safety of Russian citizens and military personnel is the priority now, Boris Dolgov, a leading researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, said in a conversation with TASS.

Commenting on the Syrian topic, the head of state touched upon during his combined Q&A session and annual press conference with journalists, Dolgov noted that Putin's message was "quite neutral", since "it is too early to talk about what Russia's role will be in Syria."

"Here we need to wait for the time when these forces that have come to power will actually control the territory of Syria, since even within these forces that have come to power there are contradictions, and it is quite possible that they will expand," he noted.

According to the analyst, external actors should not be discounted either, since "Israel may well expand its zone of occupation, which may cause some kind of response."

"What Russia can actually do now is only ensure the safety of its citizens and its military personnel," the expert said.

He also drew attention to the fact that the forces that have now come to power in Syria are "forces that are supported by the West, the United States, Turkey and Israel."

"It is quite obvious that these actors - the US, Turkey and Israel - will act to consolidate what they have achieved in Syria. That is, the fall of [former Syrian President Bashar] Assad's leadership and the rise to power of anti-Assad forces. In this regard, of course, Russia's role will be determined by the situation that will result from these actions of countries supporting anti-Assad forces. But here I can only state that, unfortunately, this new alignment of forces, the change in the balance of power in the Middle East, is not in favor of Iran and Russia for now." In this regard, the Russian leadership and diplomatic department will have to "rethink their policy towards Syria," the expert concludes.

On situation in Syria

On November 27, Syria’s armed opposition launched a large-scale offensive against government forces in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. By the evening of December 7, President Bashar Assad’s opponents had seized several major cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Daraa, and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus, forcing the army to withdraw from the capital. Assad resigned and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government until March 1, 2025.

On December 13, a TASS source said that Russia is negotiating with the new Syrian authorities on keeping its two military bases in the Arab republic. According to the source, Russia obtained temporary guarantees of security, so the military bases operate as normal.