German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock should address the US presence in her own country, Maria Zakharova urged.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has criticized German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for her demand that Russia withdraw from its military bases in Syria.
Zakharova, speaking on her Telegram channel on Friday, urged Baerbock to address the presence of US military bases in Germany.
“This is coming from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a country that hosts US military bases. I have a question: when will the German Foreign Minister say something similar to Washington? Zakharova wrote in response to Baerbock’s statement.
Baerbock’s comments followed her visit to Damascus on Friday, where she and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot became the first EU ministers to visit Syria since President Bashar Assad was overthrown.
Baerbock’s visit was aimed at preventing the country from falling under Russian and Chinese influence, the German publication Tagesschau wrote on Friday.
The situation in Syria changed dramatically in November when militant groups, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists, launched a sudden offensive against government forces. The attack caused the rapid collapse of Assad’s government, forcing him to flee to Moscow.
Russia had supported the Assad government and helped Syria fight terrorism since 2015. In 2017, Moscow and Damascus signed an agreement for the Russian military’s 49-year lease of the Tartus naval base and air base. of Khmeimim in the east of the country. country.
In late December, the head of HTS and the country’s de facto leader, Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, said that Damascus had “strategic interests” in maintaining good ties with Russia, describing it as the “The second most powerful country in the world.”
“We do not want Russia to leave Syria in a way that is not appropriate to its long-standing relations with the nation,” al-Julani said.
Russian UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia echoed this sentiment on Friday, stating that Syria’s new de facto authorities have shown interest in preserving ties with Moscow and its military presence in the region.
During his year-end press conference in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the issue of maintaining a Russian military presence in Syria. “Careful consideration.” “We must reflect on how our relationships will evolve with the political forces that currently control and those that will govern this country in the future.” Putin said.
