MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Russian servicemen at an airbase in Syria have received a festive 12-metre New Year tree decorated with lights, deputy defence minister General Dmitry Bulgakov said on Wednesday.

The tree was delivered by cargo aircraft and installed at the Hmeymim airbase, Bulgakov said.

Some 60,000 New Year trees for Russian soldiers and officers have been installed at all 5,500 Russian military bases and garrisons, including in the Arctic, the Kuril Islands in the Far East and Crimea.

Trees were also sent to Russian bases in Abkhazia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, South Ossetia, Transdniestria and Tajikistan.