The naval base in Tartus is extremely important for the Kremlin, as it is the only Russian hub in the Mediterranean Sea.
After the fall of the government of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, Russia began negotiations with the new government regarding the preservation of its two military bases on the territory of this countries.
This was reported by Bloomberg, citing its own sources.
The overthrow of the Assad regime effectively nullified previous agreements on a 49-year lease of a naval base on the Mediterranean coast in Tartus and the Khmeimim airbase. Russia agreed on a long-term lease back in 2017, two years after Putin sent military aid to President Bashar al-Assad's government army.
A Russian source for the publication claims that the Russian Defense Ministry allegedly has an informal agreement on maintaining its military presence at the aforementioned bases with the leadership of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which led the offensive against the Assad regime.
The naval base in Tartus is extremely important for the Kremlin, as it is the only Russian hub in the Mediterranean. The Khmeimim airbase is used for operations in Africa, where Russia is trying to exert its political influence.
The situation with Russian military bases may yet change amid instability in Syria.
The publication was unable to verify the information received from sources with officials of the transitional government in Syria.
Recall that earlier, The Telegraph military observer David Ax suggested that a successful uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could lead to Russia losing its military base in the Mediterranean. This situation could prompt Moscow to restore access to the Mediterranean via the Bosphorus, which would mean ending the war in Ukraine.
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