The visit follows Zelensky’s trip to Turkey on Saturday and a tour of Gulf states last week to broker security deals and swap Ukrainian drones for air defense missiles.
The Syrian edition of Al-Sharaa, which is cited by Euronews, reported that the two leaders focused on “ways to strengthen economic cooperation and exchange experiences.”
Unlike the Persian Gulf countries that Zelensky visited last week, Syria does not have the advanced air defense systems that Kiev might be interested in.
Syria’s new partnership
Syria does, however, have active Russian military bases. The Kremlin was a key ally of Assad, al-Sharaa’s predecessor.
Having come to power just over a year ago, al-Sharaa is trying to forge new diplomatic ties after more than a decade of war and global isolation. He has also managed to maintain some balance in relations with Moscow.
He met with President Vladimir Putin in January and has yet to demand that Russia withdraw military bases from Syrian territory.
Russian military bases in Syria remain
Moscow has retained two bases in Syria: Hmeimim and Tartus on the Mediterranean coast.They are critical to Russia because they provide it with easier access to the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.
Last year, al-Sharaa demanded Assad’s extradition so he could face trial in his home country in exchange for maintaining a Russian military presence in the country. Moscow rejected that request.
Commenting on this, al-Sharaa acknowledged that Syria still needs Russia’s support.
“All weapons in Syria are Russian,” he said in April 2025, explaining that at the time Damascus had no offers or alternatives to replace Syrian weapons. But it was “negotiating new agreements,” particularly with Turkey.
