High-level Russian delegation arrives in Damascus
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – A high-level Russian delegation arrived in Damascus on Tuesday to engage in extensive discussions with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria’s new administration, and other senior officials.
Rami al-Shaar, a political researcher close to the Russian Foreign Ministry, told North Press that the delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, includes representatives from Russia’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministries, as well as officials from the economic sector.
The delegation is expected to hold a press conference in the coming hours, with al-Shaar noting that Russian-Syrian relations “are set to return to their former state.”
According to al-Shaar, the talks will focus on establishing a comprehensive framework for future relations between the two countries, encompassing political, economic, and strategic dimensions.
This visit follows a recent decision by Riyad Judy, director of Tartus Customs, to cancel an agreement with a Russian company managing the Tartus port. The decision has sparked questions about its political implications and its impact on projects established during Bashar al-Assad’s era in collaboration with Russian firms.
Al-Shaar clarified that the company in question, Stroytransgaz, is privately owned, with its assets equally divided between Russian and Syrian partners. The Syrian shares are controlled by a company within the al-Qatirji Group, known for its ties to the former regime.
Muhammad al-Qaterji, killed in an Israeli airstrike in mid-2024, was the owner of al-Qaterji Group which worked closely with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to coordinate providing of millions of barrels of oil and petroleum products to be shipped to Syria, as well as millions of dollars in payments back to Iran.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had previously sanctioned al-Qaterji and a number of fuel procurement networks that operate in Syria, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to secure deliveries of crude oil, fuel, and liquefied natural gas for the Syrian regime.
Separately, Alexey Chepa, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, stated that Syria canceled the Tartus port investment agreement due to the Russian company’s inability to fulfill its commitments. He emphasized that the decision does not affect Russian military bases in Syria, according to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.