Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani informed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that Syria’s new leader is eager to strengthen relations with Moscow.
The assurance from Al Thani comes as Putin attempts to retain Russia's use of two military bases in Syria and avoid a serious blow to its strategic influence in the region, after the fall of its ally Bashar Assad in December. Assad was toppled by anti-regime forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has assumed office as the country's interim president.
"As for Syria, a few days ago President al-Sharaa was in Qatar, and we spoke with him about the historical and strategic relationship between Syria and Russia. He is keen on building a relationship between the two countries based on mutual respect," the emir told Putin at their meeting in the Kremlin.
Putin said the development of the situation in Syria, which has faced some sectarian violence in recent weeks, was of serious importance.
"We would like to do everything to ensure that Syria, firstly, remains a sovereign, independent and territorially integral state, and we would like to discuss with you the possibility of assisting the Syrian people, including humanitarian assistance," he told Al Thani.
"There are many problems there: political, security, and purely economic."
The two men also discussed the situation in Gaza, where Qatar played a key role in brokering a January deal between Israel and Hamas for a three-phase cease-fire.
Israel restarted its offensive in the enclave in March and talks to try to restore the cease-fire have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
"We reached an agreement regarding Gaza a few months back but Israel has not adhered to the agreement," Sheikh Tamim said.
"Qatar, in its role as a mediator, will strive to bridge differing perspectives in an effort to reach an agreement to end the suffering of the Palestinian people."
Putin told the emir: "We know that Qatar is making very serious efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, the initiatives put forward, including by you, have not been implemented – peaceful people continue to die in Palestine, which is an absolute tragedy of today."
Both sides have said the two leaders will also talk about efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Qatar has made a series of attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and has helped arrange the return of children from both countries who were separated from their parents during the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the "bloodbath", but has yet to achieve a breakthrough. Moscow has said it is not easy to agree a settlement.
