Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has told Russian President Vladimir Putin he would honour all past deals struck between his country and Moscow, a pledge suggesting Moscow's two main military bases in Syria are safe.

Mr al-Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al Qaeda and toppled predecessor Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally, late last year, spoke at the start of Kremlin talks on Wednesday with Mr Putin in his first visit since coming to power.

"There are bilateral relations and shared interests that bind us with Russia, and we respect all agreements made with it. We are working on redefining the nature of relations with Russia," Mr al-Sharaa, speaking in Arabic, told Mr Putin.

Mr Putin told him Moscow was ready to do all it could to act on what he called "many interesting a

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