Russian Delegation Makes Official Visit To Syria

A delegation of Russian officials arrived in Damascus for the first such visit to Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad.

Assad, an ally of Moscow, took refuge in Russia after his ouster in December in a lightning rebel offensive.

Report says the delegation included Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov and the Russian president’s special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev.

There was no official comment from Syria’s interim government, but the semi-official Al Watan newspaper reported that the Russian delegation would meet with the country’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the foreign minister.

Meanwhile, 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 canceled.

Following Assad’s downfall, Russia relocated its troops and assets from all over Syria to its main hub at the Hmeimim air base near Latakia.

There has been no indication that Moscow was preparing to evacuate the Hmeimim base or the naval facility in Tartus altogether.

The termination of a contract for a Russian company to modernize the Tartus commercial port did not directly impact the Russian naval facility, which was leased under a separate deal.

Also on Tuesday, a delegation from the Palestinian Authority made its first visit to Damascus.

The delegation, headed by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, met with al-Sharaa, the PA said in a statement.

No details of what was discussed were given.

Palestinian refugees in Syria, which number about 450,000, were not given citizenship under previous Syrian governments, ostensibly to preserve their right to go back to the homes they fled or were forced from during the 1948 creation of the state of Israel and where they are currently banned from returning.

AP/Christopher Ojilere