Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that Syria’s new leader was keen to build ties with Moscow

The assurance from Sheikh Tamim comes as Putin attempts to retain Russia’s use of two military bases in Syria and avoid a serious blow to its strategic influence in the region, after the fall of its ally Bashar al-Assad in December. Assad was toppled by rebels led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has replaced him as president

“As for Syria, a few days ago President al-Sharaa was in Qatar, and we spoke with him about the historical and strategic relationship between Syria and Russia. He is keen on building a relationship between the two countries based on mutual respect,” the emir told Putin at their meeting in the Kremlin

Putin said the development of the situation in Syria, which has been rocked by sectarian violence in recent weeks, was of serious importance

“We would like to do everything to ensure that Syria, firstly, remains a sovereign, independent and territorially integral state, and we would like to discuss with you the possibility of providing assistance to the Syrian people, including humanitarian assistance,” he told the emir

The two men also discussed the situation in Gaza, where Qatar played a key role in brokering a January deal between Israel and Hamas for a three-phase ceasefire

Putin told the emir: “We know that Qatar is making very serious efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, the initiatives put forward, including by you, have not been implemented – peaceful people continue to die in Palestine, which is an absolute tragedy of today”

Both sides have said the two leaders will also talk about efforts to end the war in Ukraine

Qatar has made a series of attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and has helped arrange the return of children from both countries who were separated from their parents during the war