Damascus, SyriaAP —
Syria and Russia have reached an agreement over the future of two strategic Mediterranean coastal bases that ultimately ends their use a military outposts for Moscow, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
Russia was the top political and military ally of ousted President Bashar Assad between 2011 and 2024 when Syria fought against an Islamist-led armed opposition of which current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was a prominent militant leader.
Throughout the conflict, the Hmeimem air base near Latakia and the Tartus naval base were key Russian outposts in the eastern Mediterranean.
Under the agreement, Syria will take control of the Hmeimem air base and the commercial berth at Tartus port as part of its civil administration. The military facilities at both sites will become “joint training and qualification centers,” the Foreign Ministry said.
