Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has arrived in Russia on his first visit to the country where ousted President Bashar al-Assad currently resides,News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Al-Sharaa is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss issues of developing cooperation between the two countries.
The visit’s program also includes a meeting with representatives of the Syrian diaspora in Russia.
During his visit, Al-Sharaa will also ask Russia to hand over al-Assad, a government official said.
The official, who requested anonymity as they were not allowed to brief the media, told AFP that “al-Sharaa will ask the Russian president to hand over all individuals who committed war crimes and are in Russia, most notably Bashar al-Assad,” the longtime ruler who was toppled in December and sought refuge in Moscow.
This visit is the first trip to Moscow for the new Syrian leader. The first top-level contact between Moscow and Damascus after the change of power in Syria took place in late 2024, when Putin and al-Sharaa discussed the situation in Syria over the phone.