By Vladimir Soldatkin, Andrew Osborn and Suleiman Al-Khalidi MOSCOW (Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday he would honour all past deals struck between his country and Moscow,

President Donald Trump's unexpected pivot on the Russia-Ukraine War seems to have created headaches for the Kremlin.

Syria’s interim leader, who led a swift rebel offensive last year that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad despite years of Moscow’s support, made his first visit to Russia and held talks with President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin said on Monday that it had its own capabilities to cover all of its battlefield needs after being asked about a Ukrainian claim that China was providing intelligence to enable Moscow to better launch missile strikes against Ukraine.

Soaring fuel prices and refinery shutdowns leave pumps empty across Russia, with the Kremlin warning gas station owners not to raise prices.

As a Ukrainian, I’ve seen firsthand how Russia has learned to emulate American soft power for authoritarian ends.

Russian state nuclear energy giant Rosatom signed a $25-billion deal last month with Iran to build four nuclear power plants in the country, which suffers from electricity shortages and currently has only one operating nuclear power plant, built by Russia in the southern city of Bushehr.