Russia is planning to hold high-level contacts with Syria in the near future, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

Damascus] Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in a call initiated by Moscow, marking a significant shift in relations between the two countries following the ouster of Bashar Assad.

Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts said.

Israeli observers offer contrasting outlooks on whether Russia will—or should, from Israel's perspective—retain its foothold in Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Turkey on Monday to discuss his country's recent talks with U.S. officials on ending the war in Ukraine, and how Ankara can contribute to the process,

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday,

And Libya is the centerpiece of that strategy. Russia is deeply committed to expanding its presence in Africa. However, the abrupt loss of their air and naval bases in Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime was a major setback for Moscow’s long-range plans for dominating the continent.

Israel believes Russian military bases and Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria will weaken Turkish influence in Damascus on the back of Turkey’s support for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadist group that spearheaded the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad.

In a series of posts on an X account attributed to her, Syria’s former first lady Asma al-Assad wished the Syrian people safety and said she will not intervene in political issues in the future.

Russia has been expanding its influence in Africa by securing a naval base in Sudan and increasing its military presence in Libya to maintain strategic access to the Mediterranean and Red seas.