Syria’s new leadership has ended a deal which granted Russia a long-term military presence in the Mediterranean port of Tartus.
The Tartus port is Russia’s sole naval base outside the former Soviet Union and has played a critical role in Moscow’s military presence in the Mediterranean, but according to Syrian opposition outlet Shaam, citing the Ministry of Information, the agreement was annulled, and the Russians must leave.
The deal brokered with Russian company Stroytransgaz under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad in 2017 extended a lease on the port for 49 years for free. However, the removal of the previous government brought the deal’s future into question.
According to several media reports, they said the revenue from the port would “now benefit the Syrian state” rather than Russia receiving 65% of Tartus’ profits. An investigation may also be started on how the deal impacted the country economically.
The move by Syria’s new government comes after some EU member states have made efforts to push the new leadership in Damascus to close Russian military bases in the country.
EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told reporters in December that it should be a condition for engagement with the new leadership that they also get rid of the Russian influence in the country.
Russia, since it invaded Ukraine, has drawn back some of its forces from those bases but has not fully withdrawn from Syria and, until now, had maintained its Khmeimim Air Base around Latakia and the naval facility in Tartus.
The latter is Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, and Moscow has used it as an integral staging post to fly its former Wagner Group military contractors in and out of Africa.
With Turkey restricting military access to the Bosphorus Strait, Tartus was key in reinforcing Russia’s regional presence and allowed Moscow to monitor NATO activities in the Mediterranean.
According to the British Defence Ministry, Russia’s presence and operations in the Eastern Mediterranean have been severely strained after Assad’s ouster.
Russian navy ships have reportedly remained offshore for weeks as a result of uncertainty over their future presence.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed earlier this month that Syria’s new rulers were not allowing Russian ships to enter Tartus to evacuate troops and equipment.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who ordered military intervention in Syria in 2015 to prop up Assad’s regime, has sought to downplay the fall of his ouster.
Moscow is yet to comment on the termination, and the Russian Foreign Ministry has not responded to Euractiv’s questions.
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