![Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Special Representative of the President of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow, Russia on 15 April 2021 [Russian Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lavrov-Dbeibeh_15.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
A Russian delegation arrived in Damascus on Tuesday, marking the first visit by officials from Moscow since the ouster of the Bashar Assad regime in early December, Russian media have reported.
The delegation is headed by two senior Russian diplomats, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and the Presidential Special Envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, explained the Russian state news agency RIA.
The visit came just days after the EU linked the lifting of sanctions on Syria to the withdrawal of foreign forces from its territory. The EU urged the Syrian authorities to require Russia to vacate its military bases in Khmeimim and Tartus.