Syria seeks closer Russian ties as Moscow calls for healing country's divisions

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani met Russia's Sergey Lavrov in landmark visit to Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani hold a joint press conference after their meeting in Moscow. AFP

Syria must heal its internal divisions to rebuild, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday, as he offered Moscow's help in stabilising the country after a wave of deadly violence.

Mr Lavrov met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani in the first visit by a senior Syrian official to Russia since the downfall of former president Bashar Al Assad, a Moscow ally, in December. Mr Al Shibani said his country wanted to have Moscow “by our side” and called for “mutual respect” between the two countries.

"We are willing to provide what is possible for economic recovery. We hope they will make progress in the coming period," Mr Lavrov said after the meeting in Moscow.

Mr Al Shibani was accompanied by Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, indicating that security issues were high on the agenda. The new government's pursuit of stability was undermined by deadly clashes in the mostly Druze governorate of Sweida.

In March, hundreds of Alawites were killed in violence on Syria's coast. Members of the sect, particularly in the security forces, underpinned the former regime, once the linchpin of Moscow's Middle East strategy.

"What happened in Sweida and on the coast exposes the administration and the people of Syria to obstacles," Mr Lavrov said. "Returning the situation to normal and national cohesion and civil peace ... all of this must be provided for all the groups and minorities in Syria."

Moscow, he said, is "willing to help return things to normal". Russia would like parliamentary elections planned in Syria next month to be a "total" poll, that "makes representation and participation available for all elements of Syrian society".

Mr Al Shibani praised Russia's stance in “rejecting violations against Syrian sovereignty”. The Syrian minister said: “The current period is full of various challenges and threats, but it is also an opportunity to build a united and strong Syria. And, of course, we are interested in having Russia by our side on this path."

Moscow was the most powerful supporter of Syria's former regime. Mr Al Assad and most of the ruling elite had fled to Moscow when the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham rebel group led the offensive that toppled the regime. However, Russia has maintained a major military base in Syria.

Mr Lavrov said the two ministers discussed opportunities to “develop co-operation with Syria in all fields, including economic and security” and to review all previous agreements with the country. He added: “All sanctions on Syria must be lifted and Washington's steps in this direction are correct.”

Russia was “ready to provide the Syrian people with all possible assistance in post-conflict reconstruction”, he added.

In January, Syria’s President Ahmad Al Shara demanded at a meeting with a Russian delegation in Damascus that Moscow hand over Mr Al Assad and liquid assets held by him and his family in Russian banks.

Since then, the US has started to normalise ties with Damascus, ushering in a possible alliance that could undermine Russia as well as Iran, the other main backer of the former Assad regime. Israel has also mounted incursions into Syria and air strikes against the country's new security forces, mostly in interventions it said were to defend the Druze minority against attacks.

“Israel violated UN resolutions in Syria regarding the Golan Heights,” Mr Lavrov said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani in Moscow. AFP

A diplomat in Amman who monitors Syria said Mr Al Shibani wants to broaden international support to the government in Damascus, especially against Israel, rather than focus on Mr Al Assad's file.

“They already have Turkey and Saudi Arabia on their side [against Israel] and want Russia on board,” the diplomat said, referring to the main regional supporters of Mr Al Shara. “The United States is also not too happy with what Israel has been doing in Syria.”

In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned Israeli attacks on Syria in a phone call with Mr Al Shara. The Russian military, particularly the air force, had carried out numerous attacks over nine years in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy HTS in its base in Idlib.

In the 1970s, Syria started falling more under the orbit of the Soviet Union, after Mr Al Assad's father Hafez came to power in a coup.

Moscow supplied Damascus with billions of dollars worth of weapons, effectively for free. But ties soured under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who opposed sending more aid and cited corruption in Syria.

In the 2000s Syria became a centrepiece of Russia's drive to re-establish influence in the Middle East, under Mr Putin. Moscow's intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015 saved Mr Al Assad from a major military defeat, when rebels swept through northern Syrian into regime territory.

But Russia was unable, or unwilling, to save the regime again when Mr Al Shara, a leading figure behind the 2015 offensive, repeated the sweep in December 2024, eventually capturing Damascus, together with other rebel groups, which forced Mr Al Assad and his associates to flee to Moscow.

The Russian military had maintained an airbase in Hmeimim, part of Latakia province, and there is another Russian naval base in Tartus. However, in January, the Russian Foreign Ministry suggested transforming the two bases into “humanitarian hubs”.

Thousands of Alawites, the same sect as Mr Al Assad, sought safety in the grounds of Hmeimim base during the deadly violence in March.