The Syrian president arrived in Moscow on Tuesday

The Syrian President Bashar al Assad arrived in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Syrian President was received at Vnukova International Airport in Moscow with official reception ceremony according to the Russian protocol.

The Syrian President is accompanied on his visit by a large ministerial delegation.

According to Kremlin official statement commenting on the visit, the Syrian president will be welcomed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday for talks in the Kremlin.

Kremlin statement indicated that current issues related to the development of Russian-Syrian cooperation in the political, economic, trade and humanitarian fields will be discussed, in addition to the prospects for a coordinated settlement of the situation in Syria and around the country.

For its part, the Syrian presidency stated that Assad arrived in Moscow on an official visit, during which he will meet with Putin.

Russia is one of the most prominent allies of the Syrian government alongside Iran, and has provided it with diplomatic and economic support since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, and has defended it in international forums, especially in the UN Security Council, where it has blocked several draft resolutions condemning the Syrian government.

The Russian military intervention in Syria since September 2015 has contributed to tipping the balance of power in the conflict in favor of the Syrian army and enabled it to achieve several victories in the face of the opposition factions and ISIS.

Thousands of Russian soldiers were deployed all over Syria in support of the Syrian government, along with group of Russian private security personnel.

Syria has been witnessing a bloody conflict since 2011 that has killed about half a million people, caused massive damage to infrastructure, and led to the displacement of millions of people inside and outside the country.

Since the start of the conflict, the Assad government has been suffering from regional political isolation, but since the earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria on February 6, which killed tens of thousands of people in both countries, the Syrian president began receiving contacts from Arab officials and aid.

The war in Syria has strained relations between Damascus and Ankara, which has long supported factions opposed to Assad.

However, analysts point out that Moscow is trying to bridge the gap between its two allies, which share enmity towards Kurdish factions stationed in northern Syria, supported by the United States, as these Kurdish factions are classified by Ankara as terrorist organizations.

In December, the Syrian and Turkish defense ministers met in Moscow, for the first time since the start of the war on Syrian territory.

It’s worth mentioning that the last meeting between Assad and Putin in Moscow was in September 2021.