Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Moscow on Oct. 15, as Russia seeks to maintain access to key military bases in the country following former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power.
“In the new Syria, we are rebuilding relations with all regional and international countries,” Sharaa said.
Moscow had long maintained ties with Syria’s Ba'athist government, led by Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, Hafez al-Assad.
Since the 1970s, Syria has hosted Russian forces at a naval base at Tartus, enabling access to the Mediterranean. Russian forces have also been stationed at the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria since at least 2015.
The historic relationship between Moscow and Syria’s Ba'athist government continued after the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011. Russia supported Assad throughout the conflict, as he fought with Sharaa’s forces and other insurgent elements across the country.
Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, seized the Syrian capital city of Damascus and drove Assad into exile last year. Sharaa has since positioned himself as Syria’s interim president.
Moscow granted Assad asylum following his government’s collapse in December 2024.
The Oct. 15 meeting marked the first face-to-face interaction between the Russian and Syrian leaders since the change in power last year.
Putin, like Sharaa, appeared ready to put the Syrian civil war in the past as the two leaders met.
“Throughout all these decades, we have always been guided by one thing—the interests of the Syrian people.”
During their meeting, Sharaa indicated that Syria and Russia could extend their ongoing energy partnership. The Syrian leader said “a significant part of Syria’s energy sector relies on Russian expertise” and insisted that Syria would respect “all agreements signed with Russia.”
At the time Sharaa seized Damascus, he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a successor to al-Qaeda’s Syrian offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra. Sharaa was subject to a $10 million U.S. reward for assistance in his apprehension, and the U.S. government had designated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a foreign terrorist organization.
Following Assad’s downfall, the U.S. government retracted the bounty against Sharaa and has since removed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from its list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
