A group of Russian officials visited Damascus, Syria, for the first time since former President Bashar Assad was removed from power. Assad, who was a strong supporter of Russia, fled to Russia in December after a quick attack by rebels. The Russian team included Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and the president’s special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev.
The details of their visit aren’t fully known, but the local newspaper Al Watan mentioned that they might meet Ahmad al-Sharaa, the country’s current leader, and the foreign minister. Russia’s strong military support helped Assad during Syria’s civil war.
Even after Assad’s fall, Syria still has ties with Russia and hasn’t forced Russian troops to leave their bases. Recently, a deal with a Russian company to run the Tartous port was canceled, but this won’t affect the Russian naval base located there. Most Russian forces have moved to the Hmeimim air base near Latakia, and there are no current plans for them to leave.
On the same day, a group from the Palestinian Authority also visited Damascus. They were led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and met with al-Sharaa, but they did not share what was discussed. There are around 450,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria, and they previously weren’t given citizenship to keep their right to return to their original homes in Israel. The new government hasn’t said anything about how it will handle their situation.
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