Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Kremlin on Wednesday that his government will honour all previous agreements made with Moscow, signaling that Russia’s two main military bases in Syria will remain secure.

Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al Qaeda and who toppled predecessor Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally, late last year, was speaking at the start of Kremlin talks with Putin, his first visit to Russia since coming to power.

“There are bilateral relations and shared interests that bind us with Russia, and we respect all agreements made with it. We are working on redefining the nature of relations with Russia,” Sharaa, who was speaking in Arabic, told Putin.

Putin told him that Moscow was ready to do a

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