TUNIS, October 19. /TASS/. Syria and Russia are discussing the review of agreements signed under the previous government, including those related to Russia’s military bases on its territory, the Syrian transitional government’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told the Al-Ikhbaria Syria television channel in an interview, adding that new agreements are yet to be signed.

In his words, "the start of relations with Russia was gradual" and "there are no new agreements in force" between the two countries at this point.

"There were agreements with the previous regime, and, of course, we did not accept them and they were suspended. By now, we have not reached new deals," the minister said. "At this point, Russian bases are a subject of negotiations, and their role is under review."

In his words, the sides need to decide "what the Russian presence will be, if it remains."

According to al-Shaibani, all these questions were on the table during the recent talks between Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

On October 15, al-Sharaa made a working visit to Russia to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time. During the talks, the Syrian leader expressed Damascus’s desire to "restart" its relations with Moscow.

Russia operates two military facilities in Syria - the Tartus naval logistics base and the Hmeymim air base located 20 km southeast of Latakia. The Soviet base in Tartus was established in 1971 under a bilateral agreement. Russia set up its air task force in Syria on September 30, 2015 to provide support to the Syrian army in fighting the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia).

On October 13, during a meeting with journalists from Arab countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Syria would like to maintain Russian military bases in the country, but may repurpose them for different tasks amid new realities.