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Russia-Syria relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 28, 2026 (MAXIM SHIPENKOV / POOL / AFP)
January 28, 2026, 7:37 pm
Syrian leader meets Putin as Russia eyes deal on military bases
Russian president has sought to build relations with Ahmed al-Sharaa since toppling of ally Assad, lauds new government’s actions to ‘restore Syria’s territorial integrity’
By AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa shake hands during their meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on October 15, 2025. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP)
January 28, 2026, 1:08 pm
Syrian leader to meet Putin for second time, as Russian presence in country dwindles
Sharaa has struck friendly tone with Moscow, but still seeks Assad’s extradition from Russia, where he fled after coup
By AFP
Illustrative: Syria's then-president Bashar al-Assad visits the Flying Eye Hospital of the international ORBIS Charity at Aleppo international airport, on June 25, 2008. (AFP PHOTO/HO/SANA)
December 16, 2025, 4:16 am
Exiled in Moscow, toppled Syrian dictator said to make quiet return to ophthalmology
Report says Bashar al-Assad and his family are living a luxurious life in Russia and UAE, though cut off from political power and considered ‘irrelevant’ by Putin
By Nava Freiberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa hold a meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on October 15, 2025. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP)
October 15, 2025, 5:51 pm
Syria’s Sharaa, in first Russia visit, says he’ll respect all past deals with Moscow
Interim Syrian president expected to ask Moscow to extradite Putin ally Assad, who sought refuge in Moscow after ouster; also said to seek Russian backing against Israeli demands
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, left, attend a joint news conference following their meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 31, 2025. (Shamil Zhumatov/Pool Photo via AP)
July 31, 2025, 10:09 pm
Syrian FM meets Putin and Lavrov, in first Russia visit since fall of Assad regime
Shaibani thanks Moscow for denouncing Israeli strikes on Syria, hopes for warm ties despite Putin’s backing for former dictator; Lavrov invites Sharaa to summit with Arab League
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 30, 2020. (Maxim Shemtov/ Pool/ AFP/ File)
July 28, 2025, 11:43 pm
Putin discusses Syria and Iran in phone call with Netanyahu
Russian president urges Israel to respect Syrian ‘sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ and offers to mediate new talks on Iran’s nuclear program, Kremlin says
By AFP and ToI Staff
This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa addressing representatives and dignitaries of Syrian communities during the National Dialogue Conference called for by the country's new authorities in Damascus on February 25, 2025. (SANA/AFP)
March 6, 2025, 2:22 pm
Syria gets fresh batch of currency printed in Russia, as ties continue to warm
Size of delivery, the second since Ahmed al-Sharaa came into power, is unclear; Moscow seeking to maintain influence in Damascus after backing ousted leader Assad during civil war
By Timour Azhari
This handout satellite image taken by Maxar Technologies on December 17, 2024 shows an overview of the port of Tartus in western Syria. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
January 24, 2025, 7:06 pm
Syria’s new leaders cancel port contract with Russian firm
Syrian media reports Tartus port management deal with Russia’s STG Stroytransgaz has been annulled, after new administration says contract with Assad’s government was not fulfilled
By Reuters
Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, December 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
December 29, 2024, 3:54 pm
Syria could take four years to hold elections, de facto leader Sharaa says
Rebel chief who ousted Assad says drafting a new constitution could take three years, subsequent changes could take another
By Hatem Maher and Menna Alaa
Syria's first lady, Asma al-Assad, the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, picks roses during the Damascene Rose Harvest Festival in the village of al-Marah in the mountainous region of Qalamoun, Syria, Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
December 23, 2024, 7:06 pm
Russia denies reports that Bashar al-Assad’s wife, Asma, filed for divorce
Kremlin also denies that UK-born ‘Desert Rose’ requested to leave Moscow, where the Assad family fled as rebels took Damascus
By Agencies
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2024. (Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
December 19, 2024, 5:32 pm
Putin says Israel ‘main beneficiary’ of Syrian rebels’ ousting of Assad
Russian president tells reporters he hopes IDF troops leave buffer zone, but ‘I have the impression that not only are they not going to leave, but they’re going to reinforce’
By Reuters and ToI Staff
Russian army armored vehicles drive near the Hmeimim Air Base, a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located southeast of the city of Latakia in the town of Hmeimim, Syria, December 16, 2024. (AP/Leo Correa)
December 16, 2024, 11:52 pm
Russia still has a military presence in post-Assad Syria — for now
After years of backing now-toppled regime, Moscow is pulling back from some areas of Syria, but still has troops at primary base in Latakia, saying it is in talks with new leaders
By ABBY SEWELL
Then-president Bashar al-Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during presidential elections in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
December 16, 2024, 5:39 pm
Breaking silence, Assad denies abandoning Syria despite his flight from rebels
In first statement since overthrow by jihadists, former dictator claims ‘terrorist onslaught’ forced his departure, says he ‘never abandoned resistance in Palestine’
By Agencies and ToI Staff
An aerial photo shows military vehicles parked outside a building, reportedly used by the Russian Army, in the in the Syrian town of Al-Bassah in the Latakia province on December 12, 2024. (Aaref Watad/AFP)
December 14, 2024, 10:13 pm
After Assad’s fall, Russia pulling some, but not all, of its forces out of Syria
Moscow says it will maintain presence at two main Syrian bases; attitude of new regime toward Russian presence is still unclear
By Tuvan Gumrukcu, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Guy Faulconbridge
An image of Syrian President Bashar Assad, riddled with bullets, is seen on the facade of the provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
December 13, 2024, 5:54 pm
Desperate Assad deceived those around him in last hours before stealthy flight from Syria
Ousted Syrian president kept officials and relatives, including his own brother, in dark about his exit plan; hunted for outside help to maintain his rule before eventually fleeing
By Samia Nakhoul, Maya Gebeily, Parisa Hafezi and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
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