Russian, Syrian foreign ministers to meet in Moscow on Thursday

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, in Moscow on Thursday, the Russian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Russia was a close ally of Syria’s former long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, who reportedly fled to Moscow with his family after opposition forces overthrow his regime in December 2024.

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During a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin “emphasized the importance of supporting the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Syria, according to a Kremlin statement.

Israel launched strikes this month on Damascus and the Druze-majority Sweida province, saying it was acting both in support of the religious minority and to enforce its demands for a demilitarized southern Syria.

Russia has been seeking to retain its naval base in Tartous and its Hmeimim air base near the port city of Latakia.

Then-Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov visited Damascus in January after al-Assad’s fall, where he met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

With agencies

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