Russian Chancellor says relations with Syria are “old and strategic”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared this Thursday (26) that Syria’s new government classified relations with Russia as “old and strategic” and that Moscow shares the same vision.

“The head of the new authorities in Syria, Ahmed Al-Shaara, recently called, I believe during an interview with the BBC, the relationship between our countries old and strategic. We share this vision. In fact, we have a lot in common with our Syrian friends”, he highlighted.

Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said on Monday (23) that Russia is in contact with Syria’s new administration at both the diplomatic and military levels.

Understand the conflict in Syria

The Assad family regime was overthrown in Syria on December 8, after 50 years in power, when rebel groups took over the capital Damascus.

President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country and is in Moscow after gaining asylum, according to a source in Russia.

Syria’s civil war began during the Arab Spring in 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad suppressed a pro-democracy uprising.

The country was plunged into full-scale conflict when a rebel force was formed, known as the Free Syrian Army, to fight government troops.

Furthermore, the Islamic State, a terrorist group, also managed to gain a foothold in the country and came to control 70% of Syrian territory.

Fighting escalated as other regional actors and world powers — from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States to Russia — joined in, escalating the country’s war into what some observers described as a “proxy war.”

Russia has allied with Bashar al-Assad’s government to fight the Islamic State and rebels, while the United States has led an international coalition to repel the terrorist group.

After a ceasefire agreement in 2020, the conflict remained largely “dormant”, with minor clashes between the rebels and the Assad regime.

More than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the UN, and millions of people have been displaced across the region.

Find out who the Syrian rebel leader is and the group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad

This content was originally published in Russian Chancellor says relations with Syria are “old and strategic” on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil

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