The White House had long backed the SDF in Syria, but US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said last week that the role of the Kurdish-led group as the “primary anti-ISIS force on the ground” had “largely expired”, with the Syrian government taking on security responsibilities in the country.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in Moscow on Jan. 28 for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Syrian news agency SANA reported. The news agency said that they would discuss bilateral relations and the latest regional developments.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow on Wednesday, as the Kremlin seeks to secure the future of military bases vital for its operations in the Middle East.

A year after Sharaa assumed power, Syria has undergone profound transformation in decades, dismantling legacy of former regime, restoring sovereignty, lifting sanctions and laying foundations of new a

Sharaa’s announcement on Friday came after days of fighting between the government and Kurdish forces. On Saturday, those forces began withdrawing from a flashpoint east of Aleppo.

By Dmitry Antonov and Suleiman Al-Khalidi MOSCOW, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Kremlin on Wednesday for talks that were set to include the sensitive issue of Russia's future military presence in Syria,

His unexpected offensive in northeast Syria claimed huge territory for Damascus and fractured a U.S.-backed militia.

Meeting in Moscow, Putin praised Syria’s leadership for preserving unity, as talks covered reconstruction, military issues.