MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Russia is ready to assist with Syria’s reconstruction; the European Commission has begun drafting a plan to stop buying Russian nuclear fuel; and US tariffs are unlikely to provide a lifeline to the budget. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Russia supports Syria’s territorial integrity, and Moscow is ready to assist with the country's reconstruction, President Vladimir Putin said on January 28 during a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is currently visiting Moscow. The Russian leader called regional integration a crucial step in this direction. In turn, the Syrian president acknowledged Russia's role in stabilizing not only the situation in the country but also across the Middle East. The two heads of state praised the notable success of their bilateral relations, noting that trade turnover has grown by more than 4%.
Following al-Sharaa's October visit to Moscow, the two countries established a framework for a new cooperation format. The Russian president addressed key issues across a range of topics, including the humanitarian agenda, prospects for military-technical cooperation, political contacts, and the regional situation, Vladimir Akhmedov, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Issues of the Modern East at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.
