Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will arrive in Russia in mid-March for an official visit, he may be received by Vladimir Putin, said Vedomosti sources. Assad was last in Moscow in September 2021.
According to experts interviewed by Vedomosti, during Assad’s visit, humanitarian issues and the theme of resolving relations will be in the spotlight.
Kirill Semyonov, an expert at the Russian Council for International Affairs, suggested that the Syrian leader would try to get help from Moscow to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake. Moreover, according to him, at the meeting, politicians can discuss helping to overcome a serious fuel crisis in Syria with the help of surplus petroleum products from Russia. Semyonov explained that Iran had previously provided funds to Syria.
In addition, Assad intends to discuss relations in the context of hostilities in Ukraine, the expert said. According to him, Damascus and Moscow should compare positions and develop common approaches, especially since Syria has started to maintain contacts with Oman, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab states.
Another issue that, according to the expert, the leaders of the two countries will address are the stages of normalization of relations between Syria and Turkey, where Moscow has acted as an intermediary.
Nikolai Surkov, senior researcher at the Center for Middle East Studies at IMEMO RAS, also said that the subject of humanitarian aid to Syria after the earthquake will be the main one on the agenda of the negotiations. He agreed that the leaders of the two countries will discuss the fuel issue and the normalization of Syrian-Turkish relations.
The issue of fuel supply and attracting investment to Syria is also still very relevant, the expert notes, therefore, perhaps the leaders will discuss issues of bilateral trade.
The subject of the normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus through the mediation of Moscow will inevitably be on the agenda of the negotiations, believes the expert. The Turks show an interest in continuing the dialogue, although Syria sets strict conditions on how the Turks should behave in the north of the country, Surkov concludes.
According to the WHO, as a result of the earthquake that occurred on the night of February 6, 8.5 thousand people died in the territories controlled by the Syrian authorities. Damascus reported 414,000 casualties and more than 400 buildings damaged or destroyed. Also in Syria, since December last year, the fuel shortage has worsened and become the most serious since the beginning of the civil war in the country in 2011. Iran, as the main supplier of products oil companies from Syria, raised energy prices in January 2023. , and also did not give permission to supply them on credit. Iranian authorities have also asked Damascus to pay an advance for new supplies. Relations between Syria and Turkey intensified in November 2022 after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered Operation Sword Claw against the PKK (which Ankara considers a terrorist organization) in northern Syria and Iraq. Turkish authorities blamed the PKK for the November 13 bombing in Istanbul. The Kurds, in turn, deny any involvement in the incident.
