Click to see full-size image (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
Syria and Russia have reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to reorganize the Russian military presence at the Khmeimim air base and Tartus naval base on the Syrian coast following about 18 months of negotiations, the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced on August 9.
In a statement carried by the state-run SANA news agency, the ministry said Syria will assume management of civilian facilities, including Khmeimim Airport and the fourth commercial berth at Tartus port, gradually integrating them into the civilian administration system as part of the deal with Russia.
Military bases and facilities will undergo a functional transformation, with the two sides agreeing to convert them from military bases into joint training and qualification centers under new arrangements designed to preserve their mutual interests, the ministry added.
The memorandum sets a maximum three-month timeframe to complete the transition, after which the new arrangements will take effect.
The ministry described the agreement as “the most significant development” since negotiations began about a year and a half ago, saying it opens the way for a new phase in Syrian-Russian relations.
Syria’s General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs said in a separate statement that under the deal, the Syrian side would take over commercial sites previously operated by Russia at Tartus port, including Berth No. 4, warehouses and associated facilities.
Meanwhile, Syrian Civil Aviation and Air Transport Authority head Omar al-Hosary said on X that the authority had taken control of Latakia International Airport in western Syria and begun technical and operational assessments of its facilities and systems ahead of preparing a rehabilitation plan and restoring the airport to operational readiness.
SANA released videos showing Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani touring both bases, accompanied by a Russian military delegation.
The Khmeimim air base and Tartus naval base are the two main pillars of Russia’s military and logistical presence in the Middle East.
Right after the fall of the regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the Russian military withdrew much equipment from Khmeimim and Tartus, including the S-400 air defense system that was covering the entire Syrian coast. However, since then, there has been no additional pullback from the bases.
Both bases remain fairly active. A Wall Street Journal report in June revealed that the Russian Navy has quietly resumed resupply operations at the Tartus naval base. Meanwhile, the Khmeimim air base further north remains active, serving as a logistics link between Russia, the Middle East, and Africa.
The Syrian announcement of a deal with Russia came as a surprise, as just days earlier Reuters reported that the country is planning to significantly reduce Russian oil imports in a bid to encourage the U.S. to remove it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Although the nature of the deployment will somewhat change, the deal appears to allow Russia to keep both Khmeimim and Tartus.
Still, the Syrian Foreign Ministry’s description of the deal as an MOU indicates that a final agreement is yet to be signed with Russia.
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