For the first time since assuming power in Syria, President Ahmad al-Sharaa met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on Wednesday.
The Kremlin announced that “the Russian president will hold talks today with his Syrian counterpart, who is on a working visit to Russia,” according to TASS. It added that the two presidents will discuss the situation in the Middle East as well as ways to strengthen bilateral relations.
A Syrian official revealed that al-Sharaa plans to formally request Russia to hand over former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for trial over what he described as crimes against Syrians.
The source also noted that the Syrian president will hold talks regarding the continued presence of Russia’s naval base in Tartus and its airbase in Hmeimim, according to Reuters.
This marks al-Sharaa’s first visit to Moscow since opposition factions led by him ousted Assad last year. Putin had granted Assad humanitarian asylum at the time, and the former president has not been seen publicly in the Russian capital since.
It’s worth noting that Damascus investigative judge Tawfiq al-Ali issued an international arrest warrant for Assad at the end of September 2025, in preparation for pursuing the case through Interpol.