The new Syrian administration stressed that restoring relations with Russia must be based on correcting past mistakes, respecting the will of the Syrian people, and serving their national interests.
The statement followed the visit of the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov to Damascus on Tuesday, in the first visit by Russian officials since Moscow’s ally President Bashar al-Assad was toppled.
In a statement, the Syrian administration stressed the need to respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, in addition to achieving transitional justice and compensating war victims, with a focus on reconstruction and economic recovery.
For his part, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov confirmed that the talks with the head of the Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Shara, were constructive and positive, stressing the continuation of strategic relations between the two countries.
Bogdanov also pointed out that there has been no change in the status of Russian facilities in Tartus and Hmeimim, while stressing Moscow's readiness to support stability and joint cooperation.
Russia was a longtime Assad ally and intervened militarily to help him recapture territory from the opposition during the more than decade-long war that erupted in 2011 after his crackdown of protests against his rule.
But a lightning opposition offensive late last year pushed al-Assad to flee Damascus in December - first to the Russian-run Hmeimim Air Base in northern Syria then to Moscow.
Days later, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Bogdanov as saying that Russia’s contacts with “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” - the opposition group that spearheaded the offensive that ousted al-Assad - were “proceeding in constructive fashion.”
This month, Syria’s new administration canceled a contract with Russian firm STG Stroytransgaz to manage and operate the Tartous port, according to three Syrian businessmen and media reports.
The contract had been signed under al-Assad.
Syria’s interim defense minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, told Reuters in an interview in Damascus this month that negotiations were underway with Russia to determine the nature of the future relationship between the two states.
“We as a state are committed to the agreements that were present in the past but there may be some amendments in the negotiations that would achieve Syria’s interests,” Abu Qasra said.
With Reuters
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