Syria's Foreign Minister says relations with Russia 'enter a new era'

Syria's relations with Russia are "entering a new era built on mutual respect", Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani said after a meeting in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Mr Lavrov said he discussed various issues with Mr Al Shibani and that they had agreed on the importance of preserving the unity of Syrian territories.

Mr Al Shibani told a joint press conference following the talks on Wednesday: "We want to move the relations between Damascus and Moscow to a strategic level that serves the interests of both countries."

He said the Syrian government would continue reconstruction of the war-torn country "with a pure national will".

"We aspire to have balanced relations with everyone, and we are working to bring investments into Syria to improve the economic situation. We agreed to enhance bilateral co-operation between the two countries," he said of Russia.

In October, Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara visited Russia, where he said his ‌government would honour all past deals struck between Damascus and ‍Moscow, a pledge ‍that suggested Russia's two main military bases in Syria were secure. ⁠

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time that Moscow was ready to act on what he called "many interesting and useful beginnings" discussed by the two sides on renewing relations.

Russia used its military power for years to back Mr Al Shara's predecessor, Bashar Al Assad, in the battle against Syrian rebels.