By Vladimir Soldatkin, Andrew Osborn and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that he would honor all previous agreements reached between his country and Moscow, a promise that suggests Moscow’s two main military bases in Syria are safe.
Sharaa, who once headed al Qaeda’s Syrian branch and overthrew his predecessor Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Russia, late last year, spoke at the start of the Kremlin’s talks with Putin, his first visit to Russia since coming to power.
“There are bilateral relations and shared interests that bind us to Russia, and we respect all agreements made with it. We are working to redefine the nature of relations with Russia,” Sharaa, speaking in Arabic, told Putin.
Putin told him that Moscow was ready to do everything possible to act on what he called “many interesting and useful beginnings” that had already been discussed between the two sides when it came to renewing relations.
The head of the Kremlin also congratulated Sharaa on the fact that parliamentary elections were held in Syria earlier this month.
“I think this is a great success for you, because it leads to the consolidation of society and, even though Syria is currently going through difficult times, it will strengthen ties and cooperation between all political forces in Syria,” Putin said.
RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES
The Kremlin said before the talks that the fate of Russia’s two main bases in Syria would be discussed: the Hmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia province and its naval facility in Tartous on the coast.
Russia, which has economic and energy interests in Syria that it also wants to protect, also has a military presence at Qamishli airport in the northeast, near the borders with Türkiye and Iraq.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow believed Damascus wanted the military bases to stay and discussed the idea of ​​also using them as logistics hubs to bring aid to Africa by sea and air.
Syrian officials are seeking assurances that Russia will not help rearm the remnants of Assad’s forces, a Syrian source said ahead of the talks. Sharaa hopes that Russia will also help rebuild the Syrian army, the same source said.
SENSITIVE VISIT
Sharaa’s visit is delicate. Russia used its military force to back Assad for years against Syrian rebels who came to power in December last year led by Sharaa. Moscow then granted asylum to Assad and his family when they fled the country.
The Assads now live discreetly in Moscow, according to Russian media.
Sharaa will use the talks to formally request that Moscow hand over Assad to stand trial for alleged crimes against Syrians, two Syrian sources told Reuters.
Russia prides itself on being able to protect its foreign allies and is unlikely to agree to hand Assad over to Damascus. Lavrov said on Monday that Russia had sheltered Assad because his life was threatened.
Sharaa, who hopes to obtain economic concessions from Russia, including the resumption of wheat supplies on favorable terms and compensation for war damages, is expected to push for Moscow’s backing to resist Israeli demands for a broader demilitarized zone in southern Syria.
It could also raise the issue of redeploying Russian military police as a guarantor against further Israeli invasions, one of the two sources said.
The Kremlin said it did not expect Putin and Sharaa to hold a news conference after their talks.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Andrew Osborn in Moscow; Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Ahmed Elimam and Tala Ramadan; writing by Andrew Osborn; editing by Mark Heinrich)