MOSCOW(National times)- Syria\u2019s interim leader, who led a swift rebel offensive last year that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad despite years of Moscow\u2019s support, arrived in Russia on Wednesday on his first visit. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to hold talks in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin to \u201cdiscuss the current condition and prospects for the development of Russian-Syrian ties in the trade and economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as the latest developments in the Middle East,\u201d the Kremlin said. The meeting underlines Moscow\u2019s desire to establish working ties with Syria\u2019s new leadership and secure Russia\u2019s military foothold in the country. Assad was an ally of Russia, and Moscow\u2019s scorched-earth intervention in support of him a decade ago turned the tide of Syria\u2019s civil war, keeping Assad in his seat until his swift removal in December. Russia, which has focused on the fighting in Ukraine and kept only a small military contingent in Syria, didn\u2019t try to counter the rebel offensive but offered asylum to Assad after he fled the country. Syrian state news agency SANA reported that al-Sharaa and Putin will \u201cdiscuss regional and international developments of mutual interest and explore ways to develop cooperation to serve the common interests of both countries.\u201d Speaking to reporters on Monday, Russia\u2019s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Moscow granted asylum to Assad on humanitarian grounds as \u201che and his family faced physical extermination.\u201d Lavrov rejected recent speculation that the former Syrian president had recently been treated for poisoning, saying that he \u201chad no problems in living in our capital and there have been no poisonings.\u201d Despite having been on opposite sides of the battle lines during the civil war, the new rulers in Damascus have taken a pragmatic approach to relations with Moscow. Russia has retained a presence at its air and naval bases on the Syrian coast and the Kremlin has voiced hope for negotiating a deal to keep the outposts. Moscow has also reportedly sent oil shipments to Syria. A Russian delegation visited Damascus in January, and Syria\u2019s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visited Moscow in July. In the CBS interview, al-Sharaa noted that \u201cRussia has close and long-standing relations with Syria, which relate to the basic structure of the state and to energy and food, for which Syria depends partly on Russian supplies, as well as some old strategic interests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW(National times)- Syria\u2019s interim leader, who led a swift rebel offensive last year that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad despite years of Moscow\u2019s support, arrived in Russia on Wednesday on his first visit. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to hold talks in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin to \u201cdiscuss the current […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n