Putin, al Sharaa vow stronger ties in Moscow talks

Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa has said that Damascus is willing to restore “historic and strategic” relations with Russia.

“We respect all the past agreements and the great history with Russia, and we will redefine the nature of these relations,” al Sharaa said in a joint press conference in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

“We have close relations with Russia, and a large part of Syria's energy sector depends on Russian expertise,” he added

Putin, on his part, congratulated al Sharaa on the fact that parliamentary elections were held earlier this month in Syria and said Moscow was ready for stronger ties with Damascus.

Putin made the comments at the start of a meeting in the Kremlin.

Putin also hailed decades of "special" ties with Syria, as he welcomed al Sharaa to the Kremlin.

"Special relations have developed between our countries over many decades," Putin told al Sharaa in televised remarks.

Assad's extradition

A Syrian government official told AFP al Sharaa planned to request the handover of Bashar al Assad, who fled to Russia after he was toppled, while both Moscow and Damascus said the two leaders would discuss the fate of Russia's military bases in the country.

A day after his ouster, the Kremlin declared Assad and his family were given asylum in Russia.

The Kremlin also said the two leaders will discuss the situation surrounding Moscow’s military bases in Syria during an upcoming meeting in Moscow.

“It's obvious that this will be touched upon one way or another during the conversation. Yes, this can be expected,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press briefing.

Moscow has two military facilities in Syria, namely a naval base in Tartus and an air base at Hmeimim, both of which are located on the country’s Mediterranean coast.