BEIRUT, January 22. /TASS/. Syria’s transitional government is still in talks with Moscow over the Russian military bases, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said.
"Up until now, it is unclear what the final solution will look like. We have not yet received instructions" from our leadership in this regard, he said in an interview with Al Araby television.
"Talks are underway," he went on to say.
The talks are conducted by the Syrian leadership and involve the Syrian Foreign Ministry, according to the minister.
Syria’s armed opposition units started a major offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates at the end of November. On December 8, they entered Damascus while government troops withdrew from the city. Bashar Assad resigned as president and left the country.
Mohammed al-Bashir announced on December 10 that he will lead a transitional cabinet in Syria until March 2025. He had previously headed the opposition’s Salvation Government in Idlib since January 2024.
The de facto leader of Syria is now Ahmad al-Sharaa, also known under his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads a group called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (banned in Russia).
Russian bases in Syria
Russia has two military sites in Syria: a naval logistics center in the port city of Tartus and the Khmeimim airbase near the town of Jableh in the Latakia province. The Tartus base was set up in 1971 under a bilateral agreement. The Russian Aerospace Force set up an aviation group in Syria on September 30, 2015 to support the Syrian military in the fight against a terrorist organization called the Islamic State (banned in Russia).
On December 19, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow proposed to use Russian military bases to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria.
On December 27, a source told TASS that the new Syrian authorities in the near future do not plan to sever the agreements that allow Russia to use the bases.