New Syrian Regime Wants ‘Good Relations’ With Russia, No Planned Withdrawal

The new Syrian authorities, led by the country’s de facto leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, of the Islamists Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) would like to remain on good terms with Russia, al-Sharaa has said, stating in an interview with local broadcaster Al Arabiya on Sunday (December 29) that his government would not necessarily be seeking the withdrawal of Moscow’s military installations from the country.

Moscow operates the Khmeimim Air Base and a logistics support center in Tartus, both situated on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. In 2017, Russia and Syria agreed to station Russian troops there until 2066. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also stated on Sunday that the agreements permitting a Russian military presence in Syria were “valid” and had been “concluded under the norms of international law.”

Lavrov clarified that Russia was prepared to discuss the future of its military installations with the new authorities in Damascus once the declared transition period, which runs until March 1, has expired. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is maintaining “contact with the representatives of the forces in charge of the situation in Syria, and everything will be decided through dialogue.”

Other sources have suggested that Moscow has “secured temporary security guarantees, so the military bases are operating as usual.”

Al-Sharaa meanwhile has clarified Damacus’s position, saying that “Syria has strategic interests in maintaining good relations with the ‘second most powerful country in the world’. He stated that “We don’t want Russia to exit Syria in a way that would not be befitting for our long-standing relations.” According to al-Sharaa, the new authorities in Damascus want to avoid conflicts.

Earlier this month, he similarly stated that the “Syrian leadership was keen to avoid provoking Russia,” and was willing to give Moscow the “opportunity to re-evaluate the relationship with Syria in a way that serves our common interests”.