Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Shareh, who is making his first visit to Russia on Wednesday, will ask Moscow to hand over ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, a Syrian government official told AFP.

The new Syrian leader has arrived in Moscow and is due to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.

"President Shareh will ask the Russian president to hand over all those who have committed war crimes and are in Russia, first and foremost Bashar al-Assad," said the Syrian official, who requested anonymity.

In December 2024, Mr. Chareh overthrew Bashar al-Assad, who had fled to Russia and led an Islamist coalition, one of his main allies.

The interim Syrian president is accompanied by his foreign minister and military and economic officials.

During his visit, he is also expected to discuss economic issues related to investment, the fate of Russian bases in Syria and the rearmament of the Syrian army, according to the government official.

The Tartus naval base and the Hmeimim air base, both located on the Mediterranean coast, are Russia's only official military outposts outside the former USSR.

Moscow made extensive use of these facilities during its 2015 intervention in the Syrian civil war in support of Bashar al-Assad, carrying out heavy aerial bombardments on rebel-held areas.

President Shareh was originally scheduled to attend a Russian-Arab summit scheduled for Wednesday, but Moscow postponed it as several Arab leaders were mobilized to oversee the implementation of the US ceasefire plan in the Gaza Strip, which came into effect Friday.

Syria's new Islamist rulers are seeking peaceful relations with Russia, despite Moscow's past alliance with Bashar al-Assad.

In July, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani was the first senior official of the new government to visit Russia.

In January, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov led the first Russian delegation to visit Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.