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Putin talks Russia-Syria cooperation in first phone call with Jolani

Wednesday, 12 February 2025 7:19 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 12 February 2025 7:25 PM ]

President Vladimir Putin of Russia

Russian President Putin has spoken with HTS leader Mohammad al-Jolani on the phone, offering his nation's support in safeguarding Syria's “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“The sides held a substantive exchange of views on the current situation in Syria,” a statement issued by the Kremlin says.

“The Russian side stressed its principled position in support of the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Syrian state,” the press service said.

The call confirmed Russia's continued readiness to help improve the socio-economic situation in Syria, including providing humanitarian aid to its residents.

Putin also “emphasized the importance of implementing a number of measures in the interest of establishing a sustainable normalization of relations in the country, activating the inter-Syrian dialogue with the participation of all leading political forces and ethno-confessional groups of the population.”

An agreement was reached to continue such contacts to elaborate a broad agenda for the development of bilateral cooperation, it said.

Wednesday's call was the first time the Russian president officially spoke with Jolani.

Jolani was appointed president for a “transitional phase” last month by the military operations department of the de facto administration.

Following the entry of HTS and other extremist groups to the Syrian capital Damascus on December 8, the Kremlin granted President Assad and his family asylum in Moscow.

On January 28, a Russian delegation, which included Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Russian envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentyev, met with Julani in Damascus.

The recent appointment of Julani as Syria’s president without constitutional legitimacy has reignited and increased concerns in the country already going through critical days.

Protesters recently gathered in Damascus to demand an inclusive National Dialogue Conference. However, the peaceful demonstration was quickly forced to disperse, exposing deepening tensions over Syria’s uncertain transition to democracy.

The Kremlin has been in talks with the Western-backed HTS rulers to keep control of its key military bases in Syria, notably the Hmeimim airbase near the port city of Latakia and the Tartous naval base.

In December, President Putin publicly stated that the future of his country’s military bases in Syria would rely on the actions of the HTS administration.

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