Acting Syrian President Ahmad al-Shareh, who will make his first visit to Russia on Wednesday, will ask Moscow to hand over deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, a Syrian government official told AFP.
The new Syrian leader arrived in Moscow and will meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.
“President Chareh will ask the Russian president to hand over all those who committed war crimes and are in Russia, first of all Bashar al-Assad,” said the Syrian official who requested anonymity.
A diplomatic visit dedicated to the economy
Chareh had overthrown Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, at the head of an Islamist coalition, who had fled to Russia, one of his main allies.
The interim Syrian president is accompanied in particular by his Foreign Minister and by military and economic officials.
During his visit, he must also address economic issues related to investments, the fate of Russian bases in Syria and the rearmament of the Syrian army, according to the government official.
The Tartus naval base and Hmeimim air base, both located on the Mediterranean coast, are Russia’s only official military posts outside the former USSR.
Russian-Arab summit postponed
Moscow used these facilities extensively during its 2015 intervention in the Syrian civil war in support of Bashar al-Assad, carrying out intense aerial bombardments in rebel-held areas.
President Chareh was initially scheduled to attend a Russian-Arab summit scheduled for Wednesday, but Moscow postponed it as several Arab leaders moved to oversee implementation of the US ceasefire plan in the Gaza Strip, which took effect on Friday.
Syria’s new Islamist leaders seek to establish peaceful relations with Russia, despite Moscow’s past alliance with Bashar al-Assad.
In July, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Chaibani was the first senior official of the new government to visit Russia.
In January, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov led the first Russian delegation to visit Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Source: BFM TV
