Putin, Still Harboring Assad, Welcomes New Syrian Leader to Moscow Again

President Vladimir V. Putin and President Ahmed al-Sharaa are looking to build ties after the fall of the Russia-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow this month.Credit...Ramil Sitdikov/ReutersJan. 28, 2026, 7:08 a.m. ETPresident Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was set to welcome President Ahmed al-Sharaa of Syria in Moscow on Wednesday as the two leaders work to establish a new relationship between their countries more than a year after the fall of the Russian-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.The trip is Mr. al-Sharaa’s second to Russia since he seized power in Syria in late 2024, sweeping across the country into Damascus, the capital, and forcing Mr. al-Assad to flee into a gilded exile in Russia.Mr. al-Sharaa, a onetime Qaeda fighter turned rebel commander and statesman, has taken a pragmatic approach to Moscow, despite spending years on the battlefield under Russian airstrikes. He has said that Syria is not in a position to be antagonizing world powers, and he has asked Russia to aid Syria in its reconstruction. At the same time, he has said that Mr. al-Assad must be brought to justice.The Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that Mr. Putin would welcome Mr. al-Sharaa for negotiations, noting that relations between Moscow and Damascus had been developing since the fall of the previous Syrian government. Mr. Peskov declined to comment on whether the extradition of Mr. al-Assad back to Syria would be discussed.ImageThe Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, before meeting with Mr. Putin in Moscow in October. The current trip will be Mr. al-Sharaa’s second to Russia since seizing power in late 2024.Credit...Pool photo by Pavel BednyakovFootage posted online showed Mr. al-Sharaa descending the steps of his airplane on Wednesday in Moscow in the snow.At stake for the Kremlin is the fate of Russia’s military footprint in Syria, which has included the Hmeimim Air Base and a naval base at Tartus, on the Mediterranean, as well as the air base at Qamishli, in northeastern Syria’s Kurdish region, near the Turkish border.This week, reports surfaced that Russia was removing its forces from Qamishli. The Syrian government under Mr. al-Sharaa is establishing control over the Kurdish region from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a group of predominantly Kurdish fighters that the United States backed to wage war against the Islamic State but that Washington has since largely abandoned.The United States has said that Mr. al-Sharaa’s government can now handle the threat posed by any resurgence of the Islamic State.Paul Sonne is an international correspondent, focusing on Russia and the varied impacts of President Vladimir V. Putin’s domestic and foreign policies, with a focus on the war against Ukraine.SKIP