Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara won the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday for his government's push against a Kurdish-led militia.
Mr Al Shara visited Moscow for talks with Mr Putin and Russian military chiefs. Russia, which has had forces stationed in Syria since the civil war, has relocated some of its equipment in recent days away from the combat zone in north-east Syria.
“Over the past year, Syria has overcome many obstacles, most recently the challenge of unifying its territory,” Mr Al Shara said. A government offensive has reclaimed large areas that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces had controlled since the civil war.
Mr Putin welcomed the Syrian army's gains. “We have closely monitored your efforts to restore the territorial integrity of Syria. And I want to congratulate you on the fact that this process is gaining momentum,” he told Mr Al Shara.
“We have always advocated the restoration of Syria's territorial integrity, as you know. And we support all your efforts in this direction.”
There was no obvious outcome from the Moscow meeting, the second such trip by Mr Al Shara since seizing power from Bashar Al Assad in 2024. Pro-Kremlin media said Russia's defence minister and military intelligence chief took part in the talks. Mr Putin also said Russian businesses were ready to help rebuild Syria.
Russia was a close ally of the Assad government and intervened on its behalf during the civil war. But it has since taken a friendly tone with Mr Al Shara's administration.
The meeting comes amid reports of Russia withdrawing its forces from Qamishli airport, a relatively small group compared to its airbase and a naval base on Syria's Mediterranean coast, both of which it is expected to maintain.
Mr Al Shara last visited Russia in October and held talks on Moscow's assets in Syria.
Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015, bombing swathes of rebel areas, to prevent the collapse of ally and beneficiary the Assad regime. Bashar Al Assad and his family have been in exile in Russia since December 2024 when he was removed from office by an offensive led by Mr Al Shara's forces.
Last year, Mr Al Shara demanded at a meeting in Damascus that Russia hand over Mr Al Assad and about $2 billion in liquid assets held by the exiled dictator's family in Russian banks, sources told The National at the time. Russian officials declined to comment.
It was unclear whether discussions during Wednesday's visit touched on the future of Mr Al Assad, who is wanted by Syrian authorities.
Since coming to power, Mr Al Shara has developed closer ties to the US, which had backed the SDF. However, that support has diminished as the Kurdish forces have lost ground.
Israel is becoming a stronger player in Syria after talks in Paris led to an agreement to share intelligence and explored commercial ties.
Israel and Syria agreed to establish a US-supervised joint “fusion” cell to co-ordinate intelligence sharing, military de-escalation, diplomatic engagement and commercial ventures.
