Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of the al-Qaeda offshoot terrorist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, attended an in-person meeting with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss boosting Russia’s economic presence in the country. The visit was Sharaa’s second to Moscow since the collapse of the longstanding regime of deposed dictator Bashar Assad, a close ally of Putin’s. Sharaa first visited in October shortly after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York, opening the door to substantial, mutual diplomatic support. Russia retains a military presence in the country and has endeavored to convince Sharaa, so far successfully, to allow that presence to remain. He also offered Sharaa the opportunity to cut deals with Russian contractors to help rebuild Syria’s major cities, many of which were devastated in the span of the war.