Archive July 31, 2025

Asaad al-Shaibani, the foreign minister of Syria, made the statement that his country wants Russia “by our side,” marking the first official visit to Moscow by a member of the new government in Damascus since the country’s previous Russian-backed government was overthrown last year.

“The present period presents numerous challenges and threats, but it also offers a chance to build a strong, united Syria,” he said. According to a Russian translation of his remarks, al-Shaibani said to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday during his trip to Moscow. “We are interested in having Russia by our side on this path,” he said.

However, al-Shaibani said, “There are a number of factors that determine and complicate these relations on the ground,” adding that mutual respect should be the foundation of the relations.

After being ousted in a lightning rebel offensive that put an end to the al-Assad family’s dominance for five decades, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a key Russian ally in the Middle East, fled to Moscow last year.

Al-Assad later claimed in a Facebook post that he wanted to stay in Russia and fight there but that the Russians had forced him to leave.

The new rulers in Damascus, led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, have a pragmatic approach to relations with Moscow despite having been on opposite sides of the conflict during the civil war, including Russia, which carried out airstrikes against the Syrian opposition and used its military might to stop the regime from crumbling in the early years of the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a call with al-Sharaa that the Kremlin described as “constructive and business-like” the following month after a Russian delegation visited Damascus. Russia has reportedly sent oil shipments to Syria from its bases on the coast of Syria, and some of its forces have remained there.

Russia will help with Syria’s reconstruction projects

After Israel intervened in clashes between Syrian government forces, Bedouin forces, and armed groups from the Druze religious minority earlier this month, which resulted in more than 250 fatalities, Al-Sharaa thanked Russia for its “strong position in rejecting Israeli strikes and repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty.”

After the discussions on Thursday, Lavrov thanked “Syrian colleagues for the steps they’re taking to ensure the safety of Russian citizens and Russian facilities.”

We reaffirmed our commitment to the Syrian Arab Republic’s unification, territorial integrity, and independence, and are prepared to assist the Syrian people in regaining their strength. We both agreed to keep talking about these issues, according to Lavrov.

Al-Shaibani demanded support for the nation’s post-Assad “transitional justice” process and claimed that Syria had established a committee to review existing agreements with Russia without naming al-Assad.

Both Russia’s naval bases in Tartous and its air base in Khmeimim, which are its only official military installations outside the former Soviet Union, are located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

Moscow’s continued presence in Syria is a mystery, according to the new Syrian government.

Four and a half years after the military dissolved Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in a coup, stoking the multifaceted civil war that has claimed the lives of thousands of people, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun made the announcement.

In a voicemail shared with reporters, Zaw Min Tun stated that the state of emergency has been ended to allow for the nation to hold elections for the establishment of a multiparty democracy.

Within six months, he continued, “Elections will be held.” No precise date has been set.

The emergency rule, which had been in place for him as the head of state, was broken by a signed order signed by General Min Aung Hlaing, who was in charge of the coup in February 2021.

However, the order he signed gives him the same authority to decide when the elections will be held and which parties may participate in the process because the international criminal court is looking into crimes against humanity against the Muslim Rohingya minority.

The Global New Light of Myanmar, a government-owned newspaper, quoted Min Aung Hlaing as saying, “We have already passed the first chapter.”

At what the newspaper called an “honorary ceremony” for its members, he told the administration council of the military government, “We are now beginning the second chapter.”

The general will lead the 11-member commission that will oversee the election, according to a report released by state broadcaster MRTV on Thursday.

Elections have recently been referred to as a means of escaping the conflict, according to Min Aung Hlaing.

Opposition groups have pledged to discredit the poll, which a UN expert last month described as “a fraud” meant to legitimize the military’s continued rule, including former lawmakers who were ousted in the coup.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won the 2020 elections by a landslide after making false allegations of fraud in the military’s landslide. The party’s other top leaders are still imprisoned, along with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Analysts predicted that Min Aung Hlaing will continue to serve as president or head of the armed forces, consolidate his position, and become de facto ruler in the process.

Beijing supports “Myanmar’s various parties and factions properly resolving disputes politically, within the constitutional and legal framework,” according to a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.