Pragmatism towards the new Damascus authorities is saving the devastated country and maintaining Moscow’s footprint in the Middle East Earlier this month, Syria’s transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in Moscow for his first official visit. The trip marked a symbolic milestone. It was the first time Russia hosted a Syrian leader since the dramatic December 2024 events in Damascus, when the regime of Bashar Assad fell and the country came under al-Sharaa’s leadership. Talks between al-