MOSCOW (AP) — Syria’s interim leader, who led a swift rebel offensive last year that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad despite years of Moscow’s support, arrived in Russia on Wednesday on his first visit.

Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to hold talks in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin to “discuss the current condition and prospects for the development of Russian-Syrian ties in the trade and economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as the latest developments in the Middle East,” the Kremlin said. The meeting underlines Moscow’s desire to establish working ties with Syria’s new leadership and secure Russia’s military foothold in the country.

Assad was an ally of Russia, and Moscow’s scorched-earth intervention in support of him a decade ago turned the

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