Russian troops have left army bases in northern Syria, The Washington Post reports.
It goes about two military facilities in the settlements of Manbij and Kobani. The first base initially belonged to the American military, but after their departure in 2019, the facility was occupied by the Russian Armed Forces. Russian soldiers used the base as a transit point when patrolling territories.
The base in the city of Kobani was used to monitor the ceasefire agreement on the Turkish-Syrian border. Russian troops were deployed at the facility as part of an agreement concluded between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in March 2020.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and the rise of militants to power in the country have threatened Russia's military presence in the country and in the whole region.
The loss of the bases in Tartus and Khmeimim may have a significant impact on the Russian fleet as Russia has been trying to maintain permanent presence in the eastern Mediterranean. Otherwise, Russia would have to redeploy ships and submarines to the Baltic Sea, Janes analysts said.
Kirill Semenov, an orientalist and expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, the new Syrian leadership, represented by rebels and Islamists, has not given Moscow any guarantees regarding the Russian military bases in Tartus and Latakia.
The new Syrian leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the head of a group that is banned in the Russian Federation, is known as a tough politician who will do everything to retain power, the expert said. Semenov believes that Julani would be willing to cooperate with other countries that are not interested in Russia's military presence in Syria.