MOSCOW, March 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russia is in touch with other countries on the wave of violence in Syria and wants the war-torn country to be "united", the Kremlin said Tuesday. 

Days of unrest in the heartland of Syria's Alawite minority have posed the most serious threat yet to the country's stability since Bashar al-Assad's fall in December. 

"We are ready and are in contact with other countries on the Syrian issue," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding Moscow "wants to see Syria united, prosperous and friendly".

Assad fled to Russia after being ousted by rebel groups following more than 13 years of civil war.

Moscow had been his key military and political backer, helping turn the tide of the conflict in his favour when it first intervened.

Russia has sought to foster ties with the new administration, in particular to secure the fate of its military bases in the country.

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of Assad that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said had killed at least 1,068 civilians, most of them members of the Alawite minority who were executed by the security forces or allied groups.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is trying to disband armed groups and establish government control over the entirety of the country.

The Syrian presidency also announced on Monday an agreement with the head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.