The Syrian Arab Republic should work towards good relations with Russia based on respect and mutual interests, Chairman of the Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC), Anas Al-Abdah, told RT.
The SNC was established in 2015 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the support of the United Nations and regional countries. The main goal of the SNC is to oversee negotiations between Damascus and the opposition to resolve the long-standing conflict in Syria through political means. The committee is composed of Syrian opposition forces.
On December 8, several opposition groups, including the jihadist Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) and the US-backed Free Syrian Army fighters, took control of Damascus after a rapid advance across the country. The Syrian army withdrew and former President Bashar al-Assad and his family were granted asylum in Russia.
When asked by RT about the future of Syria-Russia relations, Mr. Al-Abdah said: "We should aim for good relations with Russia based on the common interests of the Russian people and the Syrian people, the Russian state and the Syrian state."
That means decisions on bilateral relations need to be based on common interests and prospects, according to the politician who served as president of Syria's interim government from 2019 to 2021.
“I believe this is very important,” Mr. Al-Abdah said, adding that “Syria needs all the help the world can get.”
More than half of the country's population is now displaced or refugees, 80 percent of the western city of Homs has been devastated and much of the country's infrastructure is in ruins, he pointed out.
“We are in the process of maximizing the number of friends and minimizing the number of enemies,” Al-Abdah said, stressing that “Russia is a very important factor both regionally and internationally.”
The SNC chief concluded that there are many avenues for the two countries to “explore” to maintain good relations and even improve them.
Opposition groups trying to overthrow the government of former President Assad in Syria have pledged to respect Russian military bases and diplomatic missions in the country, a Kremlin source said.
Russia currently has the Khmeimim air base and a logistics support center at the Tartus naval base, located in western Syria along the Mediterranean coast. In 2017, Moscow and Damascus agreed to host Russian troops at these bases for 49 years.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 9 that developments in Syria had taken the world, including Russia, by surprise. Peskov noted that it would take time before Moscow could engage in "serious dialogue with those in power in Syria."
