Syria's Ahmad al-Sharaa asks Russia to handover exiled leader Bashar al-Assad: Report

Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa has requested Russia to hand over exiled leader Bashar al-Assad, according to a report by Reuters. The former Syrian president, a key Russian ally in the Middle East, fled to Moscow last year after being ousted in a rebel offensive that ended five decades of rule by the Assad family.

Syrian news agency Sana said Damascus also wanted Russia, which backed Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war, to rebuild trust through "concrete measures such as compensation, reconstruction and recovery".

A high-level Russian delegation in Syria expressed support for the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Reuters reports that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the request from al-Sharaa to hand over Bashar al-Assad.

Russia sent its first high-level delegation to Syria on Tuesday, with Moscow keen to retain two military bases in Syria.

"The Russian side reaffirmed its unwavering support for the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the visit came at a "crunch point" in Russia-Syria relations, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it an "important trip".

"It is necessary to build and maintain a permanent dialogue with the Syrian authorities, which is what we will continue to do," Peskov told reporters.

The Russian delegation was led by deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also Vladimir Putin's special envoy on the Middle East and Africa, and met with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Russia's naval base in Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim -- both on Syria's Mediterranean coast -- are Moscow's only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union.

It used the air base extensively after intervening in the Syrian civil war on Assad's side in 2015.

Following recent discussions with a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Syria's new administration has emphasised the importance of addressing past mistakes in restoring relations with Russia.

They asserted that any future cooperation must respect the will of the Syrian people and serve their interests. However, a Syrian source informed Reuters that the Russian side was unwilling to acknowledge these past ‘mistakes’.

The Russian foreign ministry described the talks as a "frank discussion" covering a wide range of issues. They indicated that both parties would pursue further contacts to seek "relevant agreements," although they did not specifically mention the two military bases in Syria.