Syria’s interim president visits Putin in Moscow for first meeting since fall of Assad regime

By Catherine Nicholls, Anna Chernova and Eyad Kourdi, CNN

(CNN) — Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, travelled to Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the first face-to-face contact the pair have had.

The meeting was especially notable considering Putin’s long-standing backing of Al-Sharaa’s predecessor, Bashar al-Assad, whose dictatorial regime was ousted by rebel forces in December.

After the toppling of the Assad dynasty, the former Syrian leader fled to Russia, where he and his family were granted asylum for “humanitarian reasons,” an official source in Russia told CNN at the time.

However, during his meeting with Al-Sharaa on Wednesday, Putin insisted that the two countries “have been exceptionally friendly” for more than 80 years, and that his country’s relationship with Syria has “never been tied to our political circumstances.”

“Throughout these decades, we have always been guided by one thing: the interests of the Syrian people,” he continued.

The Russian leader called the overthrowing of the Assad regime a “great success and a step toward societal consolidation” and said that Syria’s most recent parliamentary elections “will strengthen cooperation between all political forces” in the country, despite the “difficult times” it is facing.

Earlier this year, hundreds of people were killed in days of violence in southern Syria, which began with clashes between members of the Druze minority group and Bedouin tribes and subsequently drew a military intervention.

Israel also waded into the conflict, saying it wanted to protected the Druze and striking several government buildings in Damascus before a ceasefire was agreed upon.

Al-Sharaa said Wednesday that his country was “re-establishing relations with all regional and global countries, and there are bilateral relations and common interests that connect us with Russia.”

“We have close relations with Russia, and a large part of the energy sector in Syria depends on Russian expertise,” he said.

Russia’s deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, said later Wednesday that his country was ready to support Syria in its reconstruction after years of civil war.

“Today, we discussed specific projects in energy, transport, tourism, healthcare, and cultural and humanitarian areas,” Novak told reporters.

“All of this will be discussed in detail, and we are ready to provide support and participate in the reconstruction of Syria,” he said.

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