Al-Sharaa made the statement on Wednesday while meeting with Putin in Moscow during his first state visit to the country that has been hosting al-Assad since his exile from Syria 10 months ago.

“We are trying to restore and redefine in a new way the nature of these relations so there is independence for Syria, sovereign Syria, and also its territorial unity and integrity and its security stability,” al-Sharaa told Putin in the Kremlin.

The Syrian leader assured that Damascus would honour all past agreements with Moscow.

“There are bilateral relations and shared interests that bind us with Russia, and we respect all agreements made with it,” he added.

According to Syrian officials cited by the Reuters and AFP news agencies, al-Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda under the name Abu Mohammed al-Julani, plans to use today’s meeting with Putin to request Moscow hand over al-Assad.

But there was no mention of the sensitive diplomatic matter in al-Sharaa’s brief televised remarks at the beginning of the meeting.

Welcoming al-Sharaa, Putin hailed decades of “special relations” between the two countries, in which he claimed Moscow was always guided by Syrian people’s interests, and said his government wanted to expand them.

He also lauded recent parliamentary elections in Syria – the first since al-Assad’s overthrow – saying the process would strengthen ties between all political forces.

“I believe that this is a great success for you, because it leads to the consolidation of society, and despite the fact that Syria is currently going through difficult times, it will nevertheless strengthen ties and cooperation between all political forces in Syria,” stated Putin.

Despite having been on opposite sides of the battle lines of Syria’s 13-year war that Moscow intervened in, the new rulers in Damascus have taken a pragmatic approach to relations with Moscow, as they have with other foreign powers.

For Damascus, maintaining ties with Russia is important for rebuilding the war-shattered country and shoring up international legitimacy for the government.

In a recent interview with US network CBS, al-Sharaa stressed, “Russia has close and longstanding relations with Syria, which relate to the basic structure of the state and to energy and food, for which Syria depends partly on Russian supplies, as well as some old strategic interests”.

Russia, for its part, has retained a presence at its air and naval bases on the Syrian coast, and the Kremlin has voiced hope for negotiating a deal to keep the outposts. Moscow has also reportedly sent oil shipments to Syria.

This will be his first visit to Russia.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) confirmed the visit and reported that Sharaa’s visit aims at reorganizing bilateral relations and strengthening political and economic cooperation.

Sharaa is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin “to discuss regional and international developments of mutual interest, as well as ways to expand cooperation in areas serving the shared interests of both nations,” the agency added, citing the Presidential Media Directorate.

During the visit, Sharaa will also meet with members of the Syrian community in Russia.

In February, Putin spoke with Sharaa by phone, reaffirming Russia’s support for Syria’s unity, sovereignty, and stability, and expressing readiness to review agreements signed with the former Bashar Assad government while calling for the lifting of economic sanctions on Syria.

The visit comes more than a month after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak visited Damascus on Sept. 9, where he discussed issues, including energy cooperation and humanitarian assistance, with senior Syrian officials.

Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in late 2024, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long grip on power that began in 1963. A new transitional administration led by Sharaa was formed in January.