Sharaa, Putin meet in Moscow after Russia's abrupt pullout from Syria base
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Moscow, his second in four months, comes days after Russia began withdrawing its forces and evacuating equipment from its military base in northeast Syria.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during an official visit to Moscow as Russia seeks to maintain its military foothold in the country after rapidly abandoning one of its bases in northeast Syria.
The visit was Sharaa's second since assuming power last January after leading a rebel offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad, whom Moscow backed militarily during Syria's brutal civil war.
Sharaa arrived in Moscow earlier on Wednesday accompanied by several Syrian officials including Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and Defense Minister Marhaf Abu Qasra, according to Syria’s state news agency.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that the two leaders would discuss the fate of Russia’s military bases in post-Assad Syria.
