Syria will take back control from Russia of 2 key Mediterranean bases under a new deal

Russian forces in Syria will give up control of two strategic bases on the Mediterranean coast, which will be used as joint Russia-Syrian training centers under a new agreement between the two countries, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

Russian forces in Syria will give up control of two strategic bases on the Mediterranean coast, which will be used as joint Russia-Syrian training centers under a new agreement between the two countries, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

Russia was the top political and military ally of ousted President Bashar Assad during the country’s civil war between 2011 and 2024. Assad was ousted in December 2024 by Islamist insurgents led by current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and has since fled into exile in Russia.

Throughout the conflict, the Hmeimem air base and the Tartus naval base were key Russian military outposts in the eastern Mediterranean.

Under the new agreement between Damascus and Moscow, Syria will take control of the Hmeimem air base and the commercial berth at Tartus port as part of its civil administration. The military facilities at both sites will become “joint training” centers, the Foreign Ministry said.

The new arrangements represent a “reorganizing of the Russian presence” along Syria’s coast, the ministry said.