‘By our side’: Syrian foreign minister urges Russia’s support amid uncertainty; Moscow vows reconstruction assistance

Syrian foreign minister Assad al-Shaibani on Thursday said his country wants Russia “by our side" while on his first official visit to Moscow, reported news agency AFP.Al-Shibani also called on Russia for "mutual respect" between both nations. The statement comes as he becomes the first Syrian official in the new government in Damascus to visit Moscow ever since the ouster of Syria's previous Moscow-backed president Basar al-Assad."The current period is full of various challenges and threats, but it is also an opportunity to build a united and strong Syria. And, of course, we are interested in having Russia by our side on this path," he told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, as quoted by the news agency."But, of course, there are a number of factors that determine and complicate these relations on the ground," al Shaibani added. Earlier Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova had told state news agency Tass that al-Shibani is scheduled to meet with Russian foreign ministry Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday. The agenda he said will include discussions on bilateral relations in addition to “international and regional issues.”Lavrov said Russia was "ready to provide the Syrian people with all possible assistance in post-conflict reconstruction," quoted AFP. Though they were once on opposing sides in the civil war, Syria’s new leadership under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa have changed their stance toward Moscow. A Russian delegation visited Damascus in January, followed by a call between Putin and al-Sharaa described as “constructive and business-like”. Some Russian forces remain on Syria’s coast, and Russia has reportedly sent oil shipments to the country, according to AP. Al-Sharaa has previously thanked Moscow for its “strong position in rejecting Israeli strikes and repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty” during recent clashes involving Druze fighters. Al-Assad, long a key Russian ally in the region, reportedly fled to Moscow last year after a swift rebel offensive ended the Assad family’s five-decade rule.