DUBAI (Reuters) -Syria’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that his country had received positive messages but wanted further reassurance from Russia and Iran, main allies of former leader Bashar al-Assad now seeking to retain influence after his overthrow.
“There are positive messages, but we want these positive messages to turn into a clear policy that makes the Syrian people feel reassured,” Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said at the World Government Summit 2025 in Dubai.
“There are clear messages of respect for the new Syrian administration and respect for the sovereignty of the Syrian people. But as I told you, there are wounds among the Syrian people and there is pain that the Syrian people have suffered at the hands of these two countries,” he added.
After Syria’s war erupted in 2011, Russia and Iran intervened militarily to help Assad regain control over much of the country. But he was ultimately toppled in a lightning offensive late last year by rebels who have now formed a transitional government. Assad fled to Moscow.
Russia is seeking to retain its Tartus naval base and Hmeimim air base in northwest Syria. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus last month.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters in December that Tehran had opened a direct line of communication with Syria’s new leadership.
Shibani also said he had received an official invitation to visit Iraq and would travel to Baghdad soon.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Yousef Saba and Maha al Dahan; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alison Williams and Aidan Lewis)
