{"id":33837,"date":"2026-01-29T00:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T22:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=33837"},"modified":"2026-01-29T00:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T22:28:15","slug":"syrias-ahmed-al-sharaa-visits-russia-to-meet-putin-and-secure-military-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/syrias-ahmed-al-sharaa-visits-russia-to-meet-putin-and-secure-military-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria\u2019s Ahmed Al-Sharaa visits Russia to meet Putin and secure military cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

5 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Moscow on January 28, 2026, with talks focused on the future of Russia\u2019s military presence in Syria and the broader direction of bilateral relations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting comes as Russia works to safeguard its remaining foothold in Syria and maintain influence in the Middle East following major political changes in Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a news conference before the talks, Al-Sharaa thanked Putin for supporting unity in Syria and for what he described as Russia\u2019s \u201chistoric\u201d role in the \u201cstability of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin, in turn, voiced support for Al-Sharaa\u2019s efforts to stabilize the country and congratulated him on progress toward restoring national control. \u201cI want to congratulate you on the fact that the process of restoring the territorial integrity of Syria is gaining momentum,\u201d Putin said in televised opening remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Sharaa echoed the conciliatory tone, thanking Putin for Russia\u2019s role in helping stabilize Syria and the wider region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin and Al-Sharaa spent more than a decade on opposing sides of Syria\u2019s civil war, during which Russia provided extensive military support to the Assad government.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Russian<\/a>
Russian President Vladimir Putin with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Moscow, Russia, on January 28, 2026. (Image Credit: Yuri Kochetkov\/RIA Novosti\/via Kremlin)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Assad fled to Moscow in December 2024 as opposition forces led by Al-Sharaa advanced on Damascus, marking a major setback for Russian influence in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow had been concerned that Assad\u2019s fall could usher in what it feared might be a \u201cpopulist anti-Russia\u201d government in Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Military Presence at the Centre of Talks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the meeting that \u201call issues related to the presence of our troops in Syria\u201d would be discussed, alongside economic cooperation and regional developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian forces are currently stationed at the Khmeimim air base and the Tartous naval facility on Syria\u2019s Mediterranean coast. These sites now represent Russia\u2019s only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this week, Russia reportedly withdrew its forces from Qamishli airport in Kurdish-held northeastern Syria. Reuters reported that while Moscow was pulling out of Qamishli, it was expected to retain Khmeimim and Tartous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Syrian foreign ministry source said the withdrawal was interpreted in Damascus as a goodwill gesture, signaling that Russia would not be drawn into fighting between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces as Al-Sharaa seeks to assert central authority across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footage published on Monday showed what was described as Russia\u2019s abandoned base at Qamishli.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Russian<\/a>
Russian troops patrolling oil fields near the town of al-Qahtaniyah, in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, on February 4, 2021. (Image Credit: AFP\/via X)<\/sup><\/em>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Redefining the Status of Russian Bases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Syrian sources, a key issue on the agenda was redefining the legal and operational status of Russia\u2019s military presence at Tartous and Khmeimim under a new framework for the post-Assad period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s presence in Qamishli had long been a sensitive issue for Syrian authorities, who viewed it as leverage Moscow could use against Damascus and as support for Kurdish autonomy efforts. This relationship dated back to Russia\u2019s cooperation with Kurdish forces while simultaneously backing Assad during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Syrian source said Al-Sharaa also wanted assurances that Russia would not allow senior Assad loyalists and former army officers who fled to Moscow to use their sanctuary to finance or organize insurgent attacks against the Syrian state, particularly in coastal areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Assad\u2019s Fate and Calls for Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Sharaa has requested Assad\u2019s extradition and has said there would be justice for Syrians who were victims of repression under the former president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peskov declined to comment when asked whether Russia might consider extraditing Assad, who remains in Moscow with his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"fall<\/a>
A Syrian anti-government fighter shoots at a large banner bearing a picture of Syria\u2019s President Bashar al-Assad, in Hama. (Image Credit: AFP\/via X)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Assad\u2019s overthrow, after a civil war lasting more than a decade, marked the end of one of Russia\u2019s closest alliances in the Middle East, rooted in ties dating back to the Cold War when the Soviet Union supported the Ba’athist leadership in Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Regional Concerns and Iran<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syrian sources said Al-Sharaa also planned to raise concerns about the risk of a potential strike on Iran, with Damascus keen to limit any spillover from possible U.S. or Israeli military action. Iran, a close Russian ally, has faced increasing pressure and threats of attack in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Sharaa was also seeking greater Russian involvement in future security arrangements in southern Syria, including the possible deployment of Russian military police in Quneitra in the Golan Heights as a buffer against Israeli incursions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin is seen as especially eager to preserve Russia\u2019s presence in Syria at a time when Moscow has faced setbacks elsewhere. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Removich Belousov said on Tuesday that Russia was closely monitoring developments in Venezuela and Iran following recent tensions involving the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syria\u2019s new leadership, meanwhile, has signaled a shift in foreign policy away from Russia and toward closer ties with Washington. The Trump administration has reciprocated by engaging with Damascus, including helping broker a truce after clashes between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Russian<\/a>
Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Moscow, Russia, on January 28, 2026. (Image Credit: Yuri Kochetkov\/RIA Novosti\/via Kremlin)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Moscow on January 28, 2026, with talks focused on the future of Russia\u2019s military presence in Syria and the broader direction of bilateral relations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[62,44,1],"tags":[30,356,5,71,401,20,113,13],"class_list":["post-33837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-middle-east","category-news","tag-iran","tag-middle-east","tag-military","tag-politics","tag-putin","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-syria"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Russia-Putin-meeting-with-Syria-Ahmed-al-Sharaa.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-8NL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33837"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33855,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33837\/revisions\/33855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}