TUNIS, October 14. /TASS/. Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will visit Russia on October 15, plans to discuss with Russian leader Vladimir Putin issues of developing cooperation between the two countries, the SANA news agency said, citing al-Sharaa’s administration.
According to it, al-Sharaa’s official visit to Russia will be paid "as part of restructuring bilateral relations between the two countries and discussing issues of political and economic cooperation." Among the topics the Syrian leader plans to raise at talks with the Russian president are "regional and international developments of mutual interest, as well as ways to promote cooperation in the interests of the two countries."
The visit’s program also includes a meeting with representatives of the Syrian diaspora in Russia.
This visit will be the first trip to Moscow for the new Syrian leader. The first top-level contact between Moscow and Damascus after the change of power in Syria took place in late 2024, when Putin and al-Sharaa discussed the situation in Syria over the phone. The Russian leader stressed back then that Russia remained committed to Syria’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and reiterated that Moscow was ready to continue helping Damascus in its efforts to improve the socio-economic situation in the country.
A Syrian government delegation led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited Moscow in late July. The delegation held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, met with Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and was received by President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
On October 13, during a meeting with journalists from Arab countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Syria would like to maintain Russian military bases in the country, but may repurpose them for different tasks amid new realities.