Syrian leader meets Putin, Russia eyes deal on military bases

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow on Wednesday, as the Kremlin seeks to secure the future of military bases vital for its operations in the Middle East.

Russia was a key ally of Sharaa's predecessor Bashar al-Assad during the bloody 14-year Syrian civil war.

His toppling at the hands of Sharaa's rebel forces dealt a major blow to Russia's influence in the region and threw the status of its prized military bases in Syria into doubt.

Putin has been working to build relations with Sharaa since, though Russia's continued sheltering of Assad and his wife in Moscow remains a major obstacle to improving ties.

"Much has been accomplished in terms of restoring our interstate relations," Putin said in a televised meeting with Sharaa.

"We have closely monitored your efforts to restore Syria's territorial integrity and I want to congratulate you on the momentum this process is gaining," Putin said, apparently referring to Sharaa's recent offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria's northeast.

Sharaa, in his second meeting with Putin since coming to power, said Russia had a "historic role not only in Syria's unity and stability, but in that of the entire region."

Neither mentioned Russia's military presence in Syria, though Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier he had "no doubt" the issue would come up in their talks.

Russia has two remaining military outposts in the country, the Hmeimim airbase and Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean coast.

They are Russia's only two official military bases outside the former Soviet Union.

The Kremlin withdrew its forces from the Qamishli airport in Kurdish-held northeast Syria earlier this week.

Syria has expressed a willingness to cooperate with Moscow, though has repeatedly demanded that Russia extradite Assad.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised Sharaa as "highly respected" and said things there were "working out very well".