Syria’s new leaders said Wednesday they had discussed “transitional justice” with the first Russian official delegation to visit Damascus since the toppling of long-term Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad. The visit came with Russia keen to secure the fate of two military bases in Syria and after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that Moscow had suffered

Russia deployed troops to Syria in 2015 to support Assad regime's brutal crackdown against anti-government forces.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a special envoy arrived in Damascus. Theirs was the first such visit since President Bashar al-Assad fled the country, according to Russian state news.