The meeting comes as Moscow seeks to secure agreements to maintain its two military bases in Syria, and as Sharaa pushes for the extradition of Assad, whom Russia has been sheltering since his removal from power over a year ago.

"A discussion is planned on the status of bilateral relations and prospects for developing them in various fields, as well as the current situation in the Middle East," the Kremlin said in a statement Tuesday.

Russia was a key ally of Assad during the bloody 14-year Syrian civil war, launching air strikes on rebel-held areas of Syria largely controlled by Sharaa's Islamist forces.

Assad's ouster from power in December 2024 dealt a major blow to Russia's influence in the region and laid bare the limits of Moscow's military reach as the Ukraine war grinds on.

Russia withdrew troops and equipment on Tuesday from an airport in Kurdish-held northeast Syria where its forces were based, according to an AFP correspondent.