Moscow reveals the future of Russian army bases in Syria

It is premature to talk about the future of Russian army bases in Syria. Russia will be discussing this with the new authorities of the country, Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, TASS reports.

"The Russian military in Syria are doing everything necessary to ensure the security of military bases," the official representative of the Kremlin added.

The Russian leadership is doing everything necessary to establish contacts with the forces that can guarantee the security of military facilities in Syria.

Syrian opposition forces take full control of Latakia

Syrian armed oppositionists have completely captured the province of Latakia, where Russian military bases are located, including a naval base. 

"Since yesterday, the opposition has full control over the province of Latakia, including the cities of Tartus and Jebla. The armed forces of the opposition have not invaded and do not intend to invade the territory of Russian military bases, they are functioning normally," TASS said with reference to a source.

Putin to grant asylum to Assad

Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to grant political asylum to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad and his family, Dmitry Peskov also said. 

"Of course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state. This is his decision," he said.

On December 8, Assad left Syria and resigned as president. It was later reported that Moscow had granted him asylum. The resigned Syrian leader and his family are currently in Moscow.

Earlier, the Kremlin said that Syrian armed oppositionists guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and all diplomatic institutions in the country. 

In addition, Anas al-Abda, a member of the political committee of the Syrian National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, said that the forces that captured Damascus hope for good relations with Russia.

Syria to form new government for transitional period

The Syrian opposition will authorize Mohamad Bashir to form a government for the transitional period, Al-Jazeera reports.

"Mohamad al-Bashir, the head of the Syrian Salvation Government, which has been governing Idlib for many years, will be tasked with forming a new Syrian government for the transitional period," the publication said.

The decision was made after a meeting between the commander of the armed opposition's operations department, Ahmed Al-Shara al-Bashir, and Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali. The purpose of the meeting was to determine the order of the transfer of power not to let Syria plunge into chaos.

Details

Syria is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. It is a republic comprising 14 governorates. Damascus is Syria's capital and largest city. With a population of 25 million across an area of 185,180 square kilometres (71,500 sq mi), it is the 57th most populous and 87th largest country. The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region, broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Damascus and Aleppo are cities of great cultural significance. During the Islamic rule, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital for the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule, as a French Mandate. The newly created state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a parliamentary republic in 1945 when the new Republic became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French Mandate. French troops withdrew in April 1946, granting the nation de facto independence.

Khmeimim Air Base is a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. The airbase shares some airfield facilities with Bassel Al-Assad International Airport. The legal status of the base is regulated by a treaty Russia and Syria signed in August 2015. At the end of 2017, Russia said it had decided to turn the Khmeimim base into a component of its permanent military contingent stationed in Syria. During the late stages of the Syrian civil war, following 2024 Syrian opposition offensives and the military offensive of a Turkish-backed coalition of forces organized as the Syrian National Army, the Assad regime fell and the Russian base in Latakia came under threat. On 7 December 2024, it was reported that Russia was preparing to evacuate its assets from the airbase. Russian forces were observed transferring S-400 and Tor air defence systems to their naval base at Tartus. On 8 December, Russian control of the airbase was under serious threat from advancing rebel forces.