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Syria interested in maintaining deep strategic relations with Russia — leader

Ahmed al-Sharaa also said that relations between Russia and Syria were so close that after Bashar Assad's ouster, the country's new authorities decided to "make room for meetings and dialogue"

DUBAI, March 10. /TASS/. Syria is interested in preserving deep strategic ties with Russia, so the country’s new authorities are trying to prevent a rift in relations between the countries, Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said.

"We do not want there to be a rift between Syria and Russia, and we do not want the Russian presence in Syria to pose a danger or threat to any country in the world, and we want to preserve these deep strategic relations," he told Reuters in an interview.

The interim president also said that relations between Russia and Syria were so close that after Bashar Assad's ouster, the country's new authorities decided to "make room for meetings and dialogue" while avoiding confrontation with the Russian side.

Moscow and Damascus have been negotiating to keep Russian military bases in the country. Russia has two military facilities in Syria: a naval logistics hub in Tartus and the Khmeimim airbase near the city of Jebla in the Latakia governorate.