Syria’s Sharaa to meet Russia’s Putin on Wednesday, Syrian state news agency reports

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CAIRO (Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday, marking his first visit to Russia since Moscow’s ally President Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels led by Sharaa last year.

The two leaders will discuss regional and international developments and ways that Syria and Russia can cooperate, SANA reported, citing the Syrian president’s office media department.

Earlier, pro-government Syria TV and a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday that Sharaa would visit Russia on Wednesday, despite the postponement of an Arab summit there that he had planned to attend.

He is set to hold talks on the continued presence of Russia’s naval base in Tartous and its air base in Hmeimim, a Syrian official source said.

He will also formally request the handover of Assad, a Russian ally, for trial over alleged crimes against Syrians, the source added.

Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al Qaeda, led rebels into Damascus in December and installed a new government. Assad fled the capital and Russia granted him asylum.

Moscow has since attempted to preserve ties with Syria’s new authorities, including offering Damascus diplomatic support over Israeli strikes on Syrian territory.

In July, Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Moscow.

Shibani’s visit was the first since Assad’s ouster.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Kinda Makieh and Maya Gebeily and Menna Alaa El-Din, writing by Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Rod Nickel and Lisa Shumaker)