The Russian Foreign Ministry said that cooperation with Syria is developing very actively and that Moscow is discussing with Damascus a "possible restructuring" of its military facilities in the country, reports "Reuters".
The overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, who was a close ally of Russia, has raised questions about the future of the Russian "Hmeimim" air base in Latakia and the naval base in Tartus. Since then, however, Moscow has built relations with Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel commander who is now the president of Syria.
"Russian-Syrian cooperation is developing very actively," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, responding to a question about reports of plans to create a logistics hub in Tartus to distribute goods imported from Russia throughout Syria.
"The issue of the Russian military presence in Syria is also being discussed within the framework of contacts with Syrian partners, including in the context of a possible restructuring of the functions of Russian military facilities," she noted.
The bases in Syria are an integral part of Russia's global military presence. The naval base in Tartus is the only Russian center in the Mediterranean for repairing and supplying ships, and "Hmeimim" is a key logistical hub for military operations and the activities of mercenary groups in Africa.
Russia intervened militarily in Syria in 2015 in support of Assad during the civil war. In 2024, it was reported that Russia was withdrawing forces from the front lines in northern Syria and from positions in the mountainous regions populated mainly by representatives of Assad's Alawite community, but was not leaving its Mediterranean bases at "Hmeimim" and Tartus.
Moscow has supported Syria since the beginning of the Cold War and recognized its independence in 1944, when Damascus sought to free itself from French colonial rule. For many years, the West considered Syria a Soviet satellite.