A flurry of high-level Syrian visits to the Russian capital this week signals the boldest attempt yet by the two post-war partners to redraw their once-fraught relationship. Foreign Minister Asʿad al-Shaybani landed in Moscow late Tuesday, answering a standing invitation from President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Only hours later, Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and General Intelligence Director Hussein Salameh touched down on separate military aircraft, underscoring what one Russian diplomat described as a “diplomatic-and-security air bridge” designed to prepare the ground for an autumn summit between Presidents Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa and Vladimir Putin.
Converging agendas
The Syrian delegation’s packed schedule—talks with Lavrov at the foreign ministry, meetings at the National Defence Control Centre with Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, and a closed-door briefing at the Kremlin—illustrates the breadth of issues now on the table. According to the Damascus-based outlet Television Al-Thaniya, the two sides are attempting to “move from declarations of intent to concrete mechanisms” that will govern everything from the future of Russia’s naval and air facilities on the Mediterranean coast to joint management of Israel’s expanding strike envelope over Syria now.
As underlined by Syria TV, for Moscow, the timing could hardly be more convenient. While relations with Washington remain frozen over Ukraine and Gaza, the Kremlin sees a re-engaged Syria as a hedge against Western influence in the eastern Mediterranean. For Damascus, the calculus is different. After months spent normalising ties with Arab neighbours and Turkey, President al-Sharaa’s transitional government believes the moment is ripe to reset the most complicated file of all: the Russian one. Officials in Damascus argue that sustaining Russian security guarantees—particularly air-defence coverage around Latakia and Tartus—will be crucial as Syria tries to fend off relentless Israeli raids and Kurdish-US footholds in the north-east.
Security first, politics later
Sources close to the talks say Foreign Minister Shaybani concentrated on defining a political framework for future negotiations, while Defence Minister Abu Qasra handled the sensitive military portfolio. At issue are two legacy Russian bases, long-term arms service contracts, and the potential resumption of joint research on unmanned systems, which was paused during Syria’s civil conflict. Moscow, for its part, wants clarity on whether the new Syrian leadership intends to honour multi-billion-dollar energy concessions signed under the previous regime and whether Damascus will mediate discreetly between Russia and Israel, whose prime minister held a phone call with Putin earlier this week.
Eyes on October
Both capitals hope to codify at least a preliminary understanding before the first Arab–Russian summit, tentatively set for October in Riyadh. Kremlin officials hint that Putin would like to showcase the Syrian portfolio there as evidence that Moscow can still broker deals in the Middle East despite Western isolation. Syrian diplomats, meanwhile, insist the summit must deliver concrete Russian commitments on reconstruction financing and protection from Israeli incursions—concessions they believe only a face-to-face meeting between al-Sharaa and Putin can unlock.
Yet obstacles loom. Tel Aviv is loath to grant Moscow the role of venue for indirect Syrian-Israeli talks and may test the emerging détente with another round of airstrikes. Washington, too, could tighten sanctions if Damascus appears to grant Moscow additional basing rights. Still, analysts note that both Sharʿa and Putin are pragmatic tacticians. Each needs a foreign-policy win: the former to consolidate domestic legitimacy after unseating the old regime, and the latter to demonstrate that Russia’s Middle East influence has not waned.
If this week’s “Syrian landing” in the Russian capital succeeds, October’s mooted summit could mark not merely a symbolic handshake, but the formal birth of a recalibrated alliance—one that trades ideological loyalty for transactional cooperation, and battlefield coordination for post-war reconstruction.
Photo: Syria Tv