Illustrative image. (Syrian Presidency)
Senior Syrian officials have told the United States they are willing to significantly reduce Russian oil imports as they discuss Washington’s removal of Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism (SST), Reuters reported on August 4, citing Syrian and American sources.
The U.S. reportedly did not explicitly frame the reduction as a precondition for lifting the designation, though the Syrian source said American officials told their counterparts that ending Russian oil purchases would “improve the chances of lifting the SST designation quickly and without complications.”
Russian oil shipments to Syria jumped 75% to about 60,000 barrels per day this year, according to Reuters, which noted that although this is a very small share of Russia’s daily global oil exports, it still made Moscow the dominant crude supplier to the country.
A Syrian energy official told the news agency Damascus was already seeking new suppliers and that a “radical change” was expected.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump informed Congress of his intent to remove Syria from the SST list, triggering a 45-day notification period. Congress has also directed the Pentagon to assess options for reducing Russia’s influence in Syria, including securing the departure of Russian forces from a naval base in Tartus and an air base in Hmeimim.
Syria’s new Islamist-led government has engaged in talks with Moscow at the highest levels shortly after its formation following the collapse of the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad. However, it has not yet approved any agreement guaranteeing the future of the two Russian bases on the coast.
During an interview with Al Jazeera last month, President Ahmad al-Sharaa outlined Syria’s relationship with Moscow, highlighting significant shared interests and noting that Damascus has moved quickly to “open a new chapter” in bilateral ties.
Addressing the future of Moscow’s military presence, Sharaa stated that discussions regarding Russian bases in the country remain ongoing.
According to al-Sharaa, both sides have reached an agreement in principle to dismantle the majority of Russian military posts while maintaining a limited presence at Tartus and Hmeimim. However, final details concerning the long-term status of this scaled-back presence are still under negotiation, according to the Syrian president.
Sharaa stressed that Syria’s ties with Russia are grounded in strategic interests—specifically spanning energy, food security, and defense procurement.
He further reaffirmed that Damascus seeks to safeguard its core national interests by reshaping the bilateral relationship on new foundations rooted in mutual respect.
Still, the recent report by Reuters reflects a completely different picture. It shows that Damascus is willing to sacrifice its beneficial relations with Moscow to appease the U.S.
As for the Russian military presence in Syria, Sharaa — despite his repeated positive remarks toward Russia — may simply be waiting to widen his international legitimacy and strengthen his ties with the West before demanding a withdrawal from Moscow.
His decision to forgo cheaper Russian oil in an attempt to appease Washington suggests that, for the Syrian president, relations with Moscow are merely a temporary bargaining chip.
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yankee funded headchoppers
oh the president talking to his cia operative
remember when putin and russia backstabbed their “great ally” assad?
never trust a russian!
heheheh
captcha 500 error 501 error 502 error 503 error 504 error there is more censorship on this controlled opposition site than there is on cnn
langley virginia making sure s-f’s comments are safe for everyone to read!… russia if you have satellite technology that can scuttle starlink, you should be able to employ 8th grade programmers to ensure your comment section doesn’t get scuttled by the u$ual $uspects!… just sayin!…
a fine post-er it would make of the anointed terrori$t since the soetoro administration shaking hands with the first american j**i$h president?… the caption under it should read “because it worked so well for the european union when they endorsed the u.$.’s destruction of the nordstream pipeline!…
comments keep geting deleted. voices are silenced.all of this could have been prevented if enough support was given before the fall in december 2024
stupid man sharaa has not learn from other arab dictator ehat happen to them . he call thsmselve musilm and aligning with enemy of islam. this confirm this sharaa and people like him are all blodline of zionist whabhi . muwaiyan blood. has nothing to do with islam just use islam as tool to destroy islam from wihtin
the ongoing cia theft of syrian oil is no longer sustainable. marching terrorist al jolani out for slop media mis information campaigns will not help. where is turkey ?
syria is a possible pipelines bypass routes.
yes, censor us for speaking te truth about putins blunder 6,5 years back.
russia has misjudged many things in the past. but, that is past.
mr putin fail in syria. syrian army must fight for his country at this pass time .. today is to late. usa, turk , israel are taking control of the former syria. very bad for those civil people of syria.
syria was already damaged way before putin came to assist due to the herez israel project. the former president assad refused to green light attack from both russia and iran in case you forgot. jewlani came in damascus unopposed by the time assad was successfully rescued by russia suggesting treason within syrian army.
mafia don shakes hand of number one leader of war crimes in syria very proud moment indeed
take out that mossad agent, iran, russia, china, should take him out. get syria back. civilians are suffering in poverty, prices of gas will double, people are already starving. losing syria was a strategic defeat for russia, iran, china.
less than 2 years ago, chumpo said, vote for me and there will be no war with iran. if you vote for my opponent, there will be a war with iran. and the suckers believed him. less than 2 years ago, chumpo said he wanted to cut the military budget in half to a “mere” five hundred billion. and the suckers believed him. he is now increasing it to over fifteen hundred billion. less than 2 years ago, chumpo said he would release the epstein files. and the sucklers believed him.
this is the free syria. free to kill christians and alevites. free to worship isreal and the usa and free to fight against other arab nation. assad was a fool to ever try to rule it. he should have cut the civilized nonsunni territories of use russias help tu turn them into a fortress and leave the rest behind.