Syrian President Visits Moscow, Kremlin Seeks to Reach Agreement on Military Base
AFP, Moscow, 28th. Syrian President al-Sharaa (Ahmed al-Sharaa) will meet with Russian President Putin (Vladimir Putin) in Moscow today. The Kremlin is also seeking to reach an agreement to ensure the future of Russian military bases in Syria.
This is the second meeting between the two leaders since al-Sharaa's rebel forces overthrew the pro-Russian former president Assad (Bashar al-Assad) in 2024.
During their first meeting last October, both sides showed gestures of reconciliation, but Russia has continued to provide asylum for the Assad couple after Assad's downfall, which remains a sensitive issue in their relations, and al-Sharaa has repeatedly demanded Russia to extradite Assad.
Al-Sharaa is also actively courting US President Trump (Donald Trump). Trump praised the Syrian leader as "respectable" yesterday and said their relationship was "very smooth."
Kremlin spokesman Peskov (Dmitry Peskov) told the media before the meeting: "There is no doubt that today's talks will discuss all issues related to our troops stationed in Syria." However, he refused to comment on the current situation of Assad.
Russia had already withdrawn its troops from the Kurdish-controlled Qamishli airport in northeastern Syria this week, and currently, Russia only has the Hmeimim airbase on the Mediterranean coast and the Tartus port naval base in Syria. These two bases are the only military outposts of Russia outside the former Soviet territory.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855573510782090/
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