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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said today that he would welcome any Russian proposal to create new military bases and increase the number of troops in the Middle Eastern country, suggesting that Russia's military presence there should become permanent, Reuters reported.

When Russia intervened in Syria's civil war in 2015, it helped turn the tide of the conflict and tip the scales in Assad's favor, ensuring the Syrian leader remained in power despite Western calls for his ouster.

Assad, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin yesterday, backed Russia's war in Ukraine and told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Damascus recognizes the territories Russia claims in Ukraine.

Syria will welcome all Russian proposals to create new military bases and increase the number of Russian troops in the country, and they should not be there temporarily, the Syrian leader said.

"We believe that the expansion of the Russian presence in Syria is a good thing," Assad said in an interview with RIA.

"Russia's military presence in any country should not be based on something temporary," the president specified.

"We think that if Russia has the desire to expand its bases or increase their number, it is a technical or logistical issue," he added.

Assad's presidency has been marked by a civil war that began in 2011 with peaceful protests that has spiraled into a multi-faceted conflict that has torn the Middle Eastern country apart and drawn in a number of foreign powers.

Assad has been able to regain control of much of Syria thanks to help from Russia and Iran, aided by the fact that his allies have always been more committed to his staying in power than his enemies to his defeat, Reuters noted.

Along with the Khmeimim air base, from which Russia launches airstrikes in support of Assad, Moscow also controls the Tartus naval facility in Syria, its only naval base in the Mediterranean that has been in use since the time of the Soviet Union.

In January, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russia and Syria had restored the Al Jarah air base in the north of the country so that it could be used jointly.

The small military site, located east of the city of Aleppo, was recaptured from the Islamic State in 2017. 

At the meeting in Moscow, Assad thanked Putin for the help Russia has given Syria after the devastating earthquake and praised the Kremlin for supporting Syrian unity.

Damascus stands behind Moscow on the Ukraine issue, Assad said.

"Since this is my first visit since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, I would like to reiterate the Syrian position in support of this special operation," he added.

Bashar Assad supported Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine

"I say that these are Russian territories, and even if the war had not happened, these are historically Russian territories," Assad told RIA Novosti.

Russia claims about a fifth of the territory of Ukraine and claims that these lands are already part of the Russian Federation.

Ukraine, for its part, says it will fight until all Russian soldiers are expelled from Ukrainian lands.

The West believes that the annexation of Ukrainian territory is illegal, notes Reuters.

Russia and Syria plan to sign an economic cooperation agreement in the next few weeks, BTA notes.

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