Syria's new leadership on Wednesday urged Moscow to "address past mistakes" during talks with visiting Russian officials -- the first since former president Bashar al-Assad, a Kremlin ally, was toppled last month.
The visit came with Russia keen to secure the fate of two military bases in Syria and after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Moscow had suffered a strategic defeat in the Middle East following Assad's ouster.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said he and his delegation met for three hours with Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
"The new administration... stressed that restoring relations must address past mistakes, respect the will of the Syrian people and serve their interests," Syria's leadership said in a statement.
Talks also covered "justice for the victims of the brutal war waged by the Assad regime", it added.
Russia's foreign ministry said the visit came at a "crunch point" in Russia-Syria relations, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it an "important trip".
"It is necessary to build and maintain a permanent dialogue with the Syrian authorities, which is what we will continue to do," Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
Peskov declined to comment on reports that Syria's new rulers had requested Assad's extradition and to be paid compensation by Moscow. The former president fled to Russia with his family in December after a rapid rebel advance.
Bogdanov, also Putin's special envoy on the Middle East and Africa, was accompanied by Alexander Lavrentyev, the president's special envoy on Syria, Russia's RIA Novosti agency reported.
It said it was "the first visit by Russian officials to Damascus" since Assad fled in December in the face of a lightning rebel advance across the country.
Moscow was one of Assad's key backers, intervening in Syria's civil war in 2015 in his favour.
'Deep strategic interests'
Russia is now seeking to secure the fate of its naval base in Tartus and its air base at Khmeimim -- both on Syria's Mediterranean coast and Moscow's only military bases outside the former Soviet Union -- with the new Syrian authorities.
Sharaa leads an Islamist group -- Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) -- that is banned in Russia as a "terrorist" organisation.
The organisation is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch but has more recently adopted a more moderate tone.
RT Arabic reported that Bogdanov described the visit as aimed at strengthening historic ties based on shared interests, and underlined Russia's hopes for Syrian unity and independence.
Sharaa in December noted the "deep strategic interests between Russia and Syria" in an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV channel.
"All Syria's arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts... We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish," he said at the time.
Ukrainian diplomats visited Syria's new rulers in December, with Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga urging Sharaa to expel Russia from the country.
"We believe that from a strategic point of view, the removal of Russia's presence in Syria will contribute to the stability of not only the Syrian state, but the entire Middle East and Africa," Sybiga told Sharaa while in Damascus, according to a statement.
The Russian delegation's visit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity by the new rulers aimed at building ties and easing sanctions.
EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to begin easing sanctions on Syria starting with key sectors such as energy.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday stressed the importance of "ensuring that the new government prevents Syria from becoming a source for international terrorism" and "denying foreign malign actors the opportunity to exploit Syria's transition".
Saudi Arabia's top diplomat, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, was received by Sharaa on Friday, making his first visit since Assad's overthrow.