Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syria's foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani in Moscow on Thursday, the first visit by a top official from Syria's new government since the toppling of longtime Russian ally Bashar al-Assad in December.

Despite having been on opposite sides of the battle lines during the civil war, the new rulers in Damascus, headed by interim President Ahmed al-Sharra, have taken a pragmatic approach to relations with Moscow.