Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the new head of Syria, would like better relations with Moscow, said Qatar.
Qatar’s emir Sheikh, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the new head of Syria wanted to establish links with Moscow.
During the talks in the Russian capital on Thursday, Al Thani assured the Russian chief that the acting president Ahmed al-Sharaa sought to establish relations with Russia, after the withdrawal of former president Bashar al-Assad, who was a close ally of Moscow.
“As for Syria a few days ago, President Al-Sharaa was in Qatar, and we told him about the historical and strategic relationship between Syria and Russia,” Al Thani told Putin.
The talks intervene while Putin tries to preserve the use by Russia of two military bases in Syria to maintain its influence in the region after Al-Assad fled the country in December while the opposition fighters led by Ahmed Al-Sharaa closed the capital.
Putin said that Syria’s situation shaken by sectarian violence in recent weeks, has been of great importance.
“We would like to do everything to make sure that Syria, first of all, remains a sovereign, independent and territorial state, and we would like to discuss with you the possibility of providing assistance to the Syrian people, including humanitarian aid,” the Kremlin chief told the emir.
The two men also discussed the situation in Gaza, where Qatar played a key role in the negotiation of a January cease-fire contract between Israel and Hamas for a three-phase ceasefire.
Israel has restarted his offensive in the besieged enclave in March, and talks to try to restore the ceasefire who have so far failed to make a breakthrough.
“We reached an agreement concerning Gaza a few months ago, but Israel did not join the agreement,” said Al Thani.
“Qatar, in its role as mediator, will endeavor to fill different perspectives in an effort to achieve an agreement to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Putin told the emir: “We know that Qatar makes very serious efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Unfortunately, advanced initiatives, including by you, have not been implemented. Pacific people continue to die in Palestine, which is an absolute tragedy today. »»
Interfax quoted the spokesperson for Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, saying that there was no substantial discussion on the war in Ukraine, but Putin expressed his thanks for the participation of Qatar in the organization of the return of children from the two countries separated from their parents during the war.
