MOSCOW, Jan 25: Russia on Tuesday agreed to write off a huge chunk of Soviet-era debt held by Syria, a country at the centre of Moscow's attempts to revive its influence in the Middle East.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad was on his first official visit to Russia, which has long defended the Arab state against US and Israeli charges of ties to terrorism. In a sign Moscow was ready to take its relations with Syria to a new level, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Russia had agreed to write off 73 per cent - 9.8 billion dollars - of Syria's net debts to Moscow.
It was unclear what Moscow, whose influence waned in the Middle East after the collapse of the Soviet Union, would get in return, but Mr Assad called on Russia to boost its voice in global politics.
"I would like to support Russia's political course and at the same time express a protest against the political course of the United States," he told Moscow students.
"Russia's role is huge and Russia is well respected by third-world countries ... These countries are really hoping that Russia will try to revive its lost positions in the world."
Moscow cultivated ties with Syria in Cold War times to counterbalance the influence of Israel and supplied weaponry to the Arab state. But the Soviet collapse left Russia's key Soviet-era arms client out in the cold.
Russia's burgeoning relations with Syria have rung alarm bells in the United States and Israel. Days before Mr Assad's visit, Israeli media reported Syria wanted to buy powerful missile systems from Russia, a move Israel said would strengthen militant groups in the region.
While denying any such plans, Mr Assad said the very fact that Israel opposed expansion of Damascus's military might meant that it wanted to invade Syria. "Israel's position is illogical," he said. Moscow has denied it wanted to sell arms to Syria.
DECADES-OLD TIES: Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking before talks with Mr Assad, said: "Syria is a country with which the Soviet Union and today's Russia have always had particularly warm relations."
"We can base our relations today on a tradition of friendship and cooperation that is decades old." Washington has been pressing Damascus to stop what it calls guerillas and money entering Iraq. Syria denies the accusations.
Moscow, already at odds with Washington over nuclear ties with Iran, says the latter's stance on Syria undermines the Middle East peace process. "We are concerned with the recent situation around Syria," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, due to meet Mr Assad on Wednesday, said in remarks issued on the ministry's website.
"The language of threats can make the situation only worse ... If any concerns (about Syria) remain, they should be backed by concrete evidence and removed through talks," Mr Lavrov said.
Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union form a "quartet" of Middle East mediators backing the US-sponsored roadmap for Israel and the Palestinians. -Reuters
