On Tuesday, the highest Russian delegation arrived in Damascus for the first time since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad last month, because Russia is trying to negotiate the future of its military foundations in Syria with the new management of the country.
Among the diplomats who arrived in the Syrian capital on Tuesday were the Russian representative of Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who oversees the Middle East matters, and a special presidential envoy to Syria, Aleksandd Lavrentiev, said the Russian state agency TASS.
The cheese rebels who overthrew Mr. Al-Assad last month fought for years against government forces supported by Russia, but their interim leader suggested that he wanted to continue the relationship between Syria with Moscow, given the historical ties and overlapping geopolitical interests.
Ahmed Al-Shara, leader of the insurgents coalition that excluded Mr. Assad, called Russia an “important country” in an interview with the Saudi Arab State TV Canal Al Arabiya. He said he didn’t want Russia to leave Syria “as some wish”.
“We do not want Russia to leave Syria in a way that undermines its relationship with our country,” al-Shara said, noting that Syria depends on Russia on all its weapons and managed many of its power plants.
The Islamist rebel group Mr. Al-Shara, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, was described by the Russian and the United States as a terrorist organization. The leaders from Moscow and the West approached him, in the middle of a wider scramble about geopolitical influence in postwar Syria.
Russia has two main military bases in the country: Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean, which comes into the Soviet era, and Khmeimim’s air base near Latakia established in 2015 to help Moscow back to Mr. Al-Assad in the Civil War. Russian forces also created smaller bases across the country.
Having bases would be a serious wound of Russian ambition to maintain military support in the Middle East and develop influence in the Mediterranean.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who expanded asylum to Mr. Al-Assad in Moscow, said during the last month that Russia must consider what to do with its bases in Syria, now that the country is under it.
“We have to think about it because we have to decide how our relationships are developing with the political forces that they currently control and control the situation in this country,” Putin said.
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei V. Lavrov, said in an interview with the Russian state media outlets at the end of December that he expected the new leadership of insurgents to bring changes in the base agreements.
“Undoubtedly, changing power and change on Earth will ensure some modifications to the Russian military presence in Syria,” Lavrov said. “This includes not only continuing deployment of our foundations or strengths, but also the conditions of their operation, maintenance and support and interaction with local authorities.”
He said these problems could be subject to negotiations with the new Syrian leadership.