Ahmad al-Sharaa to travel to Moscow Wednesday

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will travel to Moscow on Wednesday, Syrian pro-government television and a source close to the presidency announced Tuesday, despite the postponement of the Russia-Arab League summit he was originally due to attend in the Russian capital.

According to an official Syrian source, Sharaa will hold talks on the continued presence of the Russian naval base in Tartous and the Hmeimim air base. He is also expected to officially request the extradition of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — an ally of Russia — so he can be prosecuted for alleged crimes against Syrians, according to the same source.

A former leader of the Syrian branch of al-Qaida, Sharaa led the rebels to Damascus in December and installed a new government. Assad had fled the capital and obtained asylum in Russia at that time.

Since then, Moscow has sought to maintain its ties with the new Syrian authorities, notably by providing diplomatic support to Damascus in the face of Israeli strikes on Syrian territory. In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani in Moscow during the first official visit since the fall of the former regime.

This article is a translation of information broadcast by Reuters in English.