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A Russian delegation has arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime last December, TASS reported on January 28
The Russian news agency said that the delegation, which is expected to hold talks with Syria’s new government, includes Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Alexander Lavrentiev, the Kremlin’s special envoy for Syria.
Earlier, Reuters reported citing two Syrian sources that talks between the delegation and the Syrian government, which is led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), were expected to take place in Damascus this week.
In late November 2024, a rebel coalition led by HTS launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates. By the evening of December 7, they captured several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus. Bashar Assad stepped down as Syrian president and left the country.
The visit comes as Moscow seeks to secure the fate of two military bases on the Syria coast, the naval base in Tartus port and its air base at Khmeimim.
A report released by Bloomberg on January 28 alleged that talks on the future of the two bases were stalled. The timing of the report suggests that it is meant to sabotage the visit. Still, this does not mean that Russia is guaranteed to reach a favorable agreement with Syria’s new rulers.
Earlier this week, satellite images posted to social networks revealed that Russia has evacuated dozens of military vehicles from Tartus base. The equipment was however gathered there from dozens of posts across Syria. It remains unclear if any equipment related to the work of the base itself were also withdrawn.
Since the fall of Assad, Moscow and Damascus have exchanged positive remarks. The two sides appear to be willing to find a common ground. However, with the war over in Syria for the most part, the Russian military deployment in the country will definitely go down in size and change its shape even if the Syrian side agreed to keep the two bases.
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i hope putin is aware of where his alliance with al qaeda has led saddam hussein.
the criminal killed wagner bosses and betrayed bashar assad.
the criminal killed one criminal and invited the other to stay in his land and you’re upset?
pojebany fiutin
lascia perdere i paesi del medioriente ci hai rimesso solo soldi, devi fare il corridoio nord sud india iran russia e ribalti la situazione non stare a perdere tempo e soldi,svegliatevi. i paesi del medioriente non possono agire gli fanno subito un colpo di stato lo sanno.
e le basi per il mediterraneo dove le metterebbe?
in algeria.
what is there to talk about? is that base worth all the problems?
bastardi z usa ako aj eu musia teraz poriadne zúriť. ich plán na vyhnanie ruských vojsk im akosi nevychádza. síce ešte nie je koniec, ale situácia sa v sýrii priostruje. jednotlivé frakcie sa začínajú medzi sebou hádať o moc. som zvedavý ako to nakoniec dopadne. myslím si, že to bude ako v líbyi, alebo aj v iraku. tiež tam nie je pokoj a poriadok. svetu mier a mysleniu zdar!!!
turquia, israel and usa are taking syrian land for free and the problem are russian bases…????
russia needs to get out of syria — it’s a lost cause and a waste of resources. concentrate on libya, president putin !
i would bet the hts gang is not willing the face the repercussions of forcing a withdrawal ??? still the only things we see is the confusion, maybe as planned ???
it’s business as usual.
as if they haven’t got phones. wejave to talk in secret. can’t trust the internet you know. peeping tom’s abd wagging tongues of eavesdropperz all around.
wakey wakey, get real. peeping tom joo creep. imo. pull dick too much.💩💩💩 = 🇮🇱
by negotiating with these inhuman terrorist murderers (and pawns of zionists, erdogan and usa) russia only paints a disgraceful image of itself in the eyes of the world. those terrorist monsters need to be destroyed, not courted like a fair maiden!