The Kremlin is in talks with the interim government in Damascus over its naval and air bases in Tartus and Hmeimim.
Russia is withdrawing its forces from its posts in the Alawite mountains as well as from the front lines in northern Syria but is not leaving its two main bases on the Mediterranean coast, four Syrian officials told Reuters.
Bashar al-Assad, like his father Hafez al-Assad, had forged a close alliance with Moscow which allowed him to remain in power during the civil war. But since its sudden fall, the future of the two main Russian military bases – the Hmeimim air base in Latakia and the naval base in Tartous – is more compromised than ever.
Satellite images on Friday showed at least two Antonov An-124s, among the world's largest cargo planes, at the Hmeimim base with their noses open, apparently ready to load. On Saturday, at least one plane took off for Libya, a Syrian security official stationed outside the base said. Syrian military and security sources indicated that Moscow was withdrawing some of its heavy equipment but also senior Syrian officers.
The same sources reported that Russia was not, however, withdrawing from its two main bases and for the moment had no intention of doing so.
Talks between Moscow and Damascus
Russian military presence in Syria “is an issue that will be the subject of future discussions and the Syrian people will have the last word”said a senior rebel official close to the new interim administration indicating that Russia had established communication channels with rebel forces who are “in the immediate vicinity” Russian bases. The Kremlin said Russia was in talks with Syria's new leaders over its bases.
Russia has been traditionally allied with Syria since it supported its independence in 1944. Westerners then considered the country, during the Cold War, as a satellite of the Soviet Union. The Russian naval base in Tartus is the only repair and replenishment center in the Mediterranean of the Russian Navy. With Hmeimim, it is notably an important starting point for military and mercenary activities in Africa. In Tartous, Moscow was granted a free 49-year lease in 2017.
In Hmeimim, Reuters saw Russian soldiers walking around the base normally and planes in the hangars. Satellite images taken Dec. 9 by Planet Labs showed at least three ships from Russia's Mediterranean fleet — two guided-missile frigates and an oil tanker — docked about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Tartus.
