Russian President Vladimir Putin held his first official phone conversation on Feb. 12 with Syria’s new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, following the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia's ability to retain its naval base in Tartus and airbase in Khmeimim will depend on what Moscow offers in return, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the main rebel group who led the overthrow of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, has been named Syria's transitional president, the country's military command announced on Jan. 29.
The demand was allegedly raised during the first negotiations between Syrian officials and a Kremlin delegation following Assad's ouster in December. After his overthrow by rebels, Assad fled to Moscow, where he now resides.
Russia deployed troops to Syria in 2015 to support Assad regime's brutal crackdown against anti-government forces.
The delegation includes Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, and the Russian president’s special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev.
"While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken," EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas posted on X, adding that the EU plans to scale up humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Syria.
The Sparta II, a Russian cargo ship under U.S. sanctions, has been drifting near Tartus since Jan. 5 after leaving Baltiysk in Kaliningrad Oblast on Dec. 11, according to the Moscow Times.
Editor's Note: Stanislav Aseyev is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, veteran, and a survivor of the Izolyatsia prison in Russia-occupied Donetsk, infamous for its torture of prisoners. He was the first Ukrainian journalist to see to the Sednaya prison and death camp in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Damascus on Dec. 30, marking the first official Ukrainian delegation to Syria in years. During the trip, he held talks with Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
The collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria following a lightning rebel offensive in November has shaken Assad-ally Russia’s near-decade of influence in the country. It has also had one other lesser-known consequence: disrupting Moscow’s ability to recruit Syrian fighters for its war in Ukraine. The Kyiv
"Everything what is happening in Syria is not a defeat for Russia," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
In a post on the official Facebook page of the Syrian presidency, Assad said he was releasing the statement to address "misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth" in the wake of his overthrow.
The FT said Syria's central bank flew nearly two tonnes of $100 bills and €500 notes into the country, which were then deposited in sanctioned Russian banks.
At least two AN-124 heavy military transport planes were spotted at Khmeimim air base, located in Latakia on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, with their nose cones lifted, signaling readiness to load cargo, according to satellite images collected by Maxar.
The Kremlin confirmed on Dec. 11 that longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad had fled to Moscow after rebels took the capital city of Damascus in a lightning offensive that shocked the world. Assad’s exile in Russia comes as little surprise. The Kremlin had invested heavily in propping up the
President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Dec. 11 following his hour-long call to Russian President Vladimir Putin during which the two discussed the war in Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent’s Natalia Yermak sat down with Neil Quilliam, a Middle East expert at Chatham House, to talk about what it means for Russia’s war in Ukraine and how it might put Kyiv and the West in a more favorable position in the potential peace negotiations with Moscow.
Moscow persuaded Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia with his family after realizing his regime was bound to lose to the opposition's rapid advance, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 11, citing its sources.
This comes as the first official confirmation of speculations that Assad and his family fled to Moscow following the collapse of the dictator's regime in Syria.
Military transport aircraft, including An-124 and Il-76 planes, continue to transport personnel and equipment to Russian airfields in Ulyanovsk, Chkalovsky, and Privolzhsky.
As Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed in a matter of days, Russia's influence in the Middle East appeared to wane. Preoccupied with its all-out war against Ukraine, Russia was unable to prevent the Dec. 8 downfall of its main ally in the region. The stunning rapidity of the rebels'
According to the outlet’s correspondent in Ankara, Russia has proposed relocating its forces to Turkish-controlled areas of Syria before transporting them to Russia by air.
Syrian opposition fighters took control of the Latakia province, where Russian military facilities – the Kheimin airbase and the Tartus naval base – are based, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Dec. 9, citing a Syrian source.
"Additionally, Russia's support for Assad also failed. And that's because Ukraine, backed by our American allies, has put up a wall of resistance against invading Russian forces, inflicting massive damage on the Russian forces," U.S. President Joe Biden said.
Russian news agencies reported on Dec. 8 that Syria's Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia, where they have been granted asylum on "humanitarian grounds."
In a post on X, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described Assad’s fall as a “positive and long-awaited development," saying that the collapse "shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran."
The withdrawal comes as rebels advancing from Damascus push toward Syria's coastal provinces, including Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russian military bases are located, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.
Reuters on Dec. 8 reported, citing its Syrian sources that "there was a very high probability that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed in a plane crash" as he was fleeing Damascus following its capture by rebels. Reuters later deleted the information from its reporting.
"The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled. We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad," rebel leaders claimed on Dec. 8.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane out of Damascus on Dec. 8 as rebel forces swept into the capital, two senior army officers told Reuters.
"Assad's backers — Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah — have all been weakened and distracted," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. Russia cannot provide large-scale military support while "ground down in a war of attrition" in Ukraine.
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