Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin, marking the first time the two have had direct contact.
The meeting was particularly noteworthy given Putin’s long-standing support of al-Shallah’s predecessor, Bashar al-Assad, whose dictatorship was overthrown by rebels in December.
After the fall of the Assad dynasty, the former Syrian leader fled to Russia, where he was granted asylum along with his family on “humanitarian reasons,” an official Russian source told CNN at the time.
However, in a meeting with Al Shara on Wednesday, Putin insisted that the two countries have been “very friendly” for more than 80 years and that his country’s relations with Syria “are in no way linked to the political situation in our country.”
“Throughout these decades, we have always been guided by one thing: the interests of the Syrian people,” he continued.
The Russian leader said the overthrow of Assad was “a great success and a step towards social integration” and said Syria’s recent parliamentary elections “will strengthen cooperation between all political forces” in the country, despite the “difficult times” the country is facing.
Hundreds of people were killed in several days of violence in southern Syria earlier this year. The violence began with clashes between the Druze minority and Bedouin tribes, then culminated in military intervention.
Israel also intervened in the conflict, saying it wanted to protect the Druze, attacking several government buildings in Damascus before a ceasefire was agreed.
Al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that his country is “rebuilding relations with all regional and world countries, and there are bilateral ties and common interests that bind us with Russia.”
“We have close ties with Russia and a large part of Syria’s energy sector relies on Russian expertise,” he said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said late Wednesday that Russia is ready to assist Syria in its recovery from the years-long civil war.
“Today we discussed concrete projects in the energy, transport, tourism, health, cultural and humanitarian sectors,” Novak told reporters.
“All this will be discussed in detail. We are ready to provide support and participate in the reconstruction of Syria,” he said.
