President Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Moscow with Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa later on Wednesday, the Syrian President's first visit to Russia since coming to power, and the fate of Russia's military bases in Syria will be on the agenda, the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin said that terrorist Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al Qaeda and who toppled close Russian ally Bashar al-Assad late last year, was in Russia on a working visit.
The fate of Russia's two main bases in Syria - the Hmeimim airbase in Syria's Latakia province, and its naval facility at Tartous on the coast - will be discussed, the Kremlin said.
Russia, which has economic and energy-related interests in Syria that it also wants to secure, has a military presence at Qamishli airport too.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow believed that Damascus wanted the military bases to stay and spoke about an idea of also using them as logistics hubs to get aid to Africa by sea and air.
Syrian officials are seeking guarantees that Russia will not help rearm remnants of Assad’s forces, one Syrian source said. Sharaa is hoping that Russia might also help rebuild the Syrian army, the same source said.
Sharaa's visit is sensitive. Russia used its military muscle to back Assad for years against Syrian rebels who came to power in December last year led by Sharaa. Moscow then gave asylum to Assad and his family when they fled the country.
The Assads now live discreetly in Moscow, according to Russian media.
Sharaa will formally request that Moscow hand over Assad to face trial over alleged crimes against Syrians, two Syrian sources told Reuters.
Russia prides itself on being able to protect its foreign allies if and when they get into trouble and is not likely to agree to hand over Assad to Damascus. Lavrov said on Monday that Russia had granted Assad refuge because his life had been under threat.
Sharaa, who is hoping to secure economic concessions, including the resumption of wheat supplies on favourable terms and compensation for war damage, is expected to press for Moscow’s backing to resist Israeli demands for a wider demilitarised zone in southern Syria.
He may also raise the issue of redeploying Russian military police as a guarantor against further Israeli encroachments, one of the two sources said.
The Kremlin said it did not expect Putin and Sharaa to hold a news conference after their talks which were due to get underway at around 10:00 GMT.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alison Williams; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
