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Conflict in Syria

No decision yet on future of Russian bases in Syria as dialogue continues — Kremlin

Russia currently operates two military facilities in Syria: a logistics naval base in the port city of Tartus and the Hmeimim air base located near the city of Jableh in the Latakia Province

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. The status of Russia’s bases in Syria remains unresolved as Moscow maintains discussions with the forces that hold control over the situation in the country, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"There are no final decisions on the issue so far. We are in contact with the representatives of the forces that are in control of the situation in the country. Everything will be determined through dialogue," he said, when asked if any decisions had been made on the future of Russia’s bases in Syria and whether social media reports were true that Moscow was considering establishing bases in Libya instead of Syria.

Russia currently operates two military facilities in Syria: a logistics naval base in the port city of Tartus and the Hmeimim air base located near the city of Jableh in the Latakia Province. The Soviet Union established a base in Tartus in 1971 in accordance with a bilateral agreement. An aviation group of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria was formed on September 30, 2015, in order to support the Syrian army in its fight against the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia).

In late November, armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on positions held by Syrian government forces in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces. On December 8, they entered Damascus, prompting government troops to withdraw from the capital. Bashar Assad resigned as Syrian president and left the country, issuing instructions to ensure a peaceful transition of power. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government. The interim period is expected to last until March 1, 2025.

A source told TASS on December 13 that Russia was in talks with the new Syrian authorities about maintaining its two military bases in the country. According to the source, Moscow has obtained temporary security guarantees so the bases continue to operate normally.

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