Russia is withdrawing its forces from the front line in northern Syria and from posts in the Alawite mountains but has not abandoned its two main bases in the country since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, four Syrian officials told Reuters.
Assad’s ouster, who along with his late father, Former President Hafez al-AssadHaving formed a close alliance with Moscow, the future of Russia’s bases – the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartos naval facility – has been thrown into question.
Satellite footage from Friday showed at least two Antonov AN-124s, among the world’s largest cargo planes, preparing to load with their nose cones open at the Hmeimim base.
At least one cargo plane left for Libya on Saturday, a Syrian security official based outside the facility said.
Syrian military and security sources in contact with the Russians told Reuters that Moscow was withdrawing its troops from the front lines and returning some heavy equipment and senior Syrian officials.
But the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Russia has not withdrawn from its two main bases and has no current intention to do so.
Some of the equipment has been sent back to Moscow as many senior officers in Assad’s army have but the aim of the move is to regroup and redeploy according to developments on the ground, a senior Syrian army official in contact with the Russian military told Reuters.
Residents visit the Old Aleppo Citadel in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria. (AP)
A senior rebel official close to the new interim administration told Reuters that Russian military presence in Syria and past agreements between the Assad government and Moscow were not under discussion.
“This is a matter of future negotiations and the Syrian people will have the final say,” the official said, adding that Moscow had established communication channels. “Our forces are also now close to Russian bases in Latakia,” he added, without elaborating.
The Kremlin says Russia is discussing the bases with Syria’s new rulers. Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Reuters reporting.
A Russian source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that talks with Syria’s new rulers were continuing and that Russia had withdrawn from its position.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain how Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Shara – known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani – saw the long-term future of the Russian bases.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose intervention in the 2015 Syrian civil war prompted Western calls for Assad to be ousted, granted Assad asylum in Russia on Sunday after Moscow helped him escape.
The bases
Moscow has supported Syria since the beginning of the Cold War and recognized its independence in 1944 when Damascus sought to overthrow French colonial rule. The West had long viewed Syria as a Soviet satellite.
Syria’s bases are an integral part of Russia’s global military presence: the Tartus naval base is Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and resupply center, with Hmimim a key staging post for military and mercenary activity in Africa.
According to Syrian military and Western intelligence sources, Russia also had eavesdropping posts in Syria that operated alongside Syrian signal stations.
The Tartos facility dates back to 1971, and Moscow granted a free 49-year lease in 2017, after Russia intervened in the civil war to support Assad.
Syrian children play next to a destroyed residential building in the Hanano neighborhood of Aleppo city, Syria. (AP)
Yoruk Isik, a geopolitical analyst based in Istanbul who runs the Bosphorus Observatory, said Russia was likely sending cargo planes from Syria via the Caucasus to Libya’s al-Khadim airbase.
On the highway connecting the Hmeimim air base with the base in Tartos, a Russian convoy of infantry fighting vehicles and logistics vehicles could be seen heading towards the airbase, a Reuters journalist said.
The convoy was halted due to a fault in one of its vehicles, with soldiers standing by the vehicle to repair the problem.
“A Russian, Iranian or previous government that oppresses us and denies our rights … we don’t want Russian, Iranian or any other foreign intervention,” Ali Halloum, who lives in Latakia and lives in Jabalah, told Reuters.
In Hmeimim, Reuters saw Russian soldiers casually walking around the base and jets in hangars.
Satellite imagery taken in December. 9 by Planet Labs showed at least three ships in Russia’s Mediterranean fleet — two guided missile frigates and an oiler — about 13 kilometers (8 miles) northwest of Tartos.
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