Russia in Syria one year on
One year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Moscow no longer plays an active role in Syria. But al-Sharaa went to Russia to meet Putin and relations between the two countries are marked by pragmatism, with Damascus still dependent on Russian oil and wheat. The issue of air bases and the port of Tartus.
Moscow (AsiaNews) - A year ago, Islamic rebels in Syria overwhelmingly overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power in Damascus for almost a quarter of a century, ending a civil war that had been going on since 2011 and decades of violent dictatorship.
However, Ahmed al-Sharah's new government still has a long way to go, as Syria's many problems have certainly not been resolved, and even the presence of the Russians, former supporters of Assad who is now resting in Moscow, has not yet completely disappeared.
On the evening of 8 December, the centre of Damascus and many other Syrian cities was lit up with lights and fireworks, festive music resounded everywhere, and hundreds of thousands of people celebrated the first anniversary of liberation in the streets.
The celebrations continue for days, in an attempt to forget the government's struggle against the ongoing outbreaks of inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflict and the enormous difficulties of the social and economic conditions of the population.
Fourteen years of civil war, in which many external powers have taken part, have claimed no less than half a million lives, and millions of Syrian refugees are scattered throughout the world.
Syria's current leaders are still trying to figure out how to rebuild the entire country, much of which has been reduced to a pile of rubble, and above all how to restore state and local institutions in order to govern the approximately 25 million Syrians who remain in their homeland (and alive).
The new president, al-Sharah, has travelled the world in search of aid, from Saudi Arabia to Turkey, from France to the United States, where in 2013 he was described as “one of the most dangerous wanted terrorists”, with a million bounty on his head for even the slightest information about him.
He has now met his new friend Donald Trump twice, obtaining the cancellation of many sanctions, and speaking at the UN in September, the first Syrian president to do so in 58 years.
Finally, in October, he travelled to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin, staying for two and a half hours of talks without making any comments. According to information subsequently released in Damascus, the Russian president made it clear that he wanted to keep the military air bases in Syria at Hmeimim and Qamishli, continuing to use the port of Tartus on the Mediterranean, locations considered strategic for Russia towards Africa, where Russia's presence and influence on the governments of several countries appears increasingly intense.
Apparently, Russia has no active role within Syria, and most of its soldiers have left the country. The military bases and various commercial projects dependent on Moscow seem to have been completely abandoned, while the port of Tartus under Assad was effectively controlled by the Russians, and now the few Russians remaining have to ask for permission for any movement or activity.
However, a certain Russian presence has remained, even though al-Sharah could have forced everyone to leave. The new Syrian leader is demonstrating remarkable pragmatism in this regard, rising above ideological dictates and memories of the civil war, in which the Russians defended the Assad regime.
Russia was and remains the main supplier of oil and wheat to Syria, which are imported at huge discounts compared to other countries. Russia remains a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and the weapons circulating in Syria are mostly Russian, and al-Sharah still needs Moscow to guarantee the security of his government.
One problem that cannot be solved without Russia's support is compliance with the 1974 convention on the division of forces between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights, which the Israelis broke immediately after Assad's fall, occupying several border territories long defended by the Russians.
One of al-Sharah's main advisers is his older brother, Makher al-Sharah, a doctor who studied in Russia and is married to a Russian woman, Tatiana Zakirova, and who now handles relations with Moscow on behalf of the Damascus government.
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01/02/2008
29/07/2025 11:39
