HMEIMIM, December 18. /TASS/. A military police service has been successfully established in Syria, Head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Military Police Directorate Lieutenant General Vladimir Ivanovsky told reporters.

"According to military commanders, locals and observers, a military police service has been successfully established, tasked with carrying out humanitarian missions and peacekeeping operations," he said after a ceremony held at Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Syria, when Russian military police officers received awards before departing for home.

The general added that Russian military police officers had built a positive image among Syrian civilians, while the military police service had taken a final shape and gained vast experience.

Apart from Hmeymim, Russian military servicemen received awards at an observation point on the border of the Idlib de-escalation zone and in the demilitarized zone on the Syrian-Israeli border that Russian troops have been patrolling since September.

Military police officers currently make the bulk of Russian troops in Syria. They protect the Hmeimim airbase and the Tartus naval base, assist the Syrian authorities in maintaining order in areas liberated from militants and monitor the ceasefire in cooperation with the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides. In addition, they escort humanitarian aid convoys and protect humanitarian corridors refugees use to leave areas controlled by militants.