MOSCOW — The first Russian official delegation to visit Syria since the toppling of long-term Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Damascus, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday.

The visit comes with Moscow keen to secure the fate of two military bases there and after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that Moscow had suffered a strategic “defeat” in the Middle East following the fall of Assad.

The Russian delegation due to meet the new leadership of the war-ravaged country included deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also Putin’s special envoy on the Middle East and Africa, as well as Alexander Lavrentyev, the president’s special envoy on Syria, the RIA Novosti agency reported.

It said it was “the first visit by Russian officials to Damascus” since Assad fled in December in the face of a lightning rebel advance across the country.

Moscow was one of Assad’s key backers, intervening in Syria’s civil war in 2015 in his favor.

He and his family fled to Russia after his ouster by Turkish-backed rebels formerly affiliated with Al-Qaida.

Russia is now seeking to secure the fate of its naval base in Tartus and its air base at Khmeimim – both on Syria’s Mediterranean coast and Moscow’s only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union – with the new Syrian authorities.

A report by RT Arabic, a Russian state-controlled channel, said the delegation is set to meet Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and other officials.

Russia’s Bogdanov was a diplomat in Syria in the 1980s and 1990s and speaks Arabic, according to the foreign ministry website. Lavrentyev took part in previous negotiations with Assad.

Sharaa leads an Islamist group – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – that is banned in Russia as a “terrorist” organization.

The organization is rooted in Al-Qaida’s Syria branch but has more recently adopted a more moderate tone.

RT Arabic reported that Bogdanov described the visit as aimed at strengthening historic ties based on shared interests, and underlined Russia’s hopes for Syrian unity and independence.

‘Deep strategic interests’

Sharaa in December noted the “deep strategic interests between Russia and Syria” in an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV channel.

“All Syria’s arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts… We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish,” Sharaa added.

Ukrainian diplomats visited Syria’s new rulers in December, with Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga urging Sharaa to expel Russia from the country.

“We believe that from a strategic point of view, the removal of Russia’s presence in Syria will contribute to the stability of not only the Syrian state, but the entire Middle East and Africa,” Sybiga told Sharaa while in Damascus, according to a statement.

The Russian delegation’s visit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity by the new rulers, aimed at building ties and easing sanctions.

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to begin easing sanctions on Syria starting with key sectors such as energy.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday stressed the importance of “ensuring that the new government prevents Syria from becoming a source for international terrorism” and “denying foreign malign actors the opportunity to exploit Syria’s transition.”

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, was received by Sharaa on Friday, making his first visit since Assad’s overthrow.
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