Damascus (AFP) – Syria said on Sunday that it reached a deal with Russia on the fate of its two bases in the country, which Moscow once used to provide military support to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war.

Russia was a key Assad ally during the 13-year conflict, helping to keep the former leader in power, and his ouster in 2024 dealt a major blow to its influence in the region.

President Vladimir Putin has since worked to build relations with the new Islamist authorities in Damascus to secure the future of Russia's only two official military bases outside the former Soviet Union.

Syria's official SANA news agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying that the Hmeimim airbase and Tartus naval base would be turned into "joint training and capacity-building centres, within new arrangements that preserve mutual interests".

The memorandum of understanding, which followed a year and a half of negotiations, "set a time limit of no more than three months to complete the process", SANA said.

In the meantime, civilian facilities at both bases will be handed over to Damascus.

Russia has yet to officially comment on the agreement.

Both the Hmeimim and Tartus bases had remained operational while talks were ongoing.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited the sites on Sunday "to inspect the facilities and installations included in the historic memorandum of understanding", according to SANA.

...