Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for Syria’s “unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity” in his first telephone conversation with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharrah, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
Moscow wants to keep two major military bases in Syria, even though ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia and a coalition of Islamist-led armed groups seized power in December.
In his conversation with Ahmad al-Sharrah, Putin stressed “the importance of implementing a series of measures aimed at the lasting normalization” of the situation in Syria and “activating intra-Syrian dialogue,” the Russian presidency said in a statement.
Russia has been heavily criticized for its meddling and military intervention in the Syrian civil war, which began in 2015, all in order to save its ally Bashar al-Assad.
The Russian authorities participated in a ruthless repression of the rebels, and carried out several devastating airstrikes.
At the end of January, the official Russian delegation visited Damascus for the first time after Al Assad was ousted from power, expressing support for the “unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty” of Syria.
At the same time, the new Syrian authorities asked Russia to “correct its past mistakes”.
