Senior Russian officials arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for their first meetings with Syria's new leadership under Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), which led the overthrow of Moscow's main Middle East ally,

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov is set to meet Syria's new rulers this week in Damascus, two Syrian sources said on Tuesday, in the first visit by Russian officials since Moscow's ally President Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

It is the first such delegation to visit Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad, an ally of Moscow, in December in a lightning rebel offensive. Assad took refuge in Russia after his ouster.