Russia says Syria base deal will boost ties with Damascus, RIA reports

Russia says Syria base deal will boost ties with Damascus, RIA reports
This picture shows the Hmeimim Air Base in Syria's Latakia governorate on January 29, 2025. (File/AFP)
Updated 11 August 2026 16:07
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Russia says Syria base deal will boost ties with Damascus, RIA reports

Russia says Syria base deal will boost ties with Damascus, RIA reports

MOSCOW: ‌Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that a deal reached ​with Syria on the future of Moscow’s military bases in the Middle Eastern country was an important step that would boost ties between ‌the two ‌countries, the ​state RIA ‌news ⁠agency ​reported. The Syrian ⁠foreign ministry was cited by Syria’s state news agency on Sunday as saying that Syria and Russia had reached ⁠a memorandum of understanding to ‌settle ‌the future of ​Russian bases at ‌Tartous and Hmeimim following ‌18 months of intensive negotiations.
The ministry was quoted as saying that the Syrian state would ‌take over management of civilian facilities, including Hmeimim ⁠airport ⁠and the commercial berth at Tartous port, allowing them to be gradually integrated into the country’s civilian administration. Military facilities would be repurposed as joint training centers with the transition to be ​completed within three ​months.