Syrian leader Ahmed al Sharaa has asked Russia to hand over former regime leader Bashar al Assad.
A Syrian source familiar with the talks with Moscow told Reuters on Wednesday that Syria's leader Ahmed al Sharaa had requested that Russia hand over Assad and his close aides during the discussions with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
The ousted Syrian president, a key Russian ally in the Middle East, fled to Moscow last year after being ousted, which ended five decades of rule by the Assad family.
Earlier a high-level Russian delegation which is in Syria expressed support for the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity following the fall of Assad, Moscow's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The delegation was led by Bogdanov, who is also Putin's special envoy on the Middle East and Africa and met with Syria's new leader Ahmed al Sharaa.
"The Russian side reaffirmed its unwavering support for the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said the visit came at a "crunch point" in Russia-Syria relations, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it an "important trip".
"It is necessary to build and maintain a permanent dialogue with the Syrian authorities, which is what we will continue to do," Peskov told reporters.
'Inclusive dialogue'
Russia has said that the question of preserving its military bases in Syria is a subject that requires further consultations.
“So far, nothing has changed. This issue requires additional negotiations. We agreed to continue more in-depth consultations on each area of our cooperation,” Bogdanov told journalists.
He said the Russian side underscored the need to resolve issues in Syria through an “inclusive political dialogue.”
Bogdanov added that Russia would be glad to see Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al Shaibani's visit to Moscow.
The visit on Tuesday came just days after the European Union linked the lifting of sanctions on Syria to the withdrawal of foreign armed forces from its territory, urging Syrian authorities to require Russia to vacate its military bases in Khmeimim and Tartus.
Syria’s new authorities have not cut off relations with Moscow or forced a complete exit of Russian military forces from bases in Syria, but earlier this month, Al Watan reported that a contract with a Russian company to manage the port in Tartous had been cancelled.
Russia's naval base in Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim both on Syria's Mediterranean coast are Moscow's only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union.
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