Moscow should reconsider its presence in Syria after Assad's fall: transitional government spokesman
Obeida Arnaut, a spokesman for the political department of Syria's new transitional government, has called on Russia to reconsider its presence in the country following the overthrow of Moscow's ally, former President Bashar al-Assad, Euronews reports.
"I think Russia should reconsider its presence and its interests in Syrian territory," Arnaut said. According to him, Moscow can cooperate with the new administration to show that it "has no hostility towards the Syrian people."
Russia has two military bases in Syria: the Hmeimim air base near the port of Latakia and the Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean coast. Moscow and Damascus signed an agreement in 2017 to maintain Russian military forces there for a period of 49 years. The bases are considered one of the Kremlin's most strategically important assets.
The Tartus base is particularly important because it provides Russia with its only direct access to the Mediterranean Sea and serves as a base for naval exercises and the deployment of warships, the publication notes.
Western analysts and intelligence services are reporting a large-scale withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria, but Moscow has not yet confirmed this information.
Earlier, there were reports that a large convoy of Russian military equipment had left Latakia in the direction of Tartus. Experts analyzed satellite images and discovered trucks and armored personnel carriers that had arrived in Tartus.
According to Arnaut, a spokesman for the new Syrian transitional government, Russia's recent movements in Syria are ambiguous. He emphasized that the decision to remove naval ships from ports and move military vehicle convoys from military bases does not clearly indicate whether the Kremlin is truly retreating or whether this is part of their regular movements.
"I think Russia needs to reconsider its presence in Syrian territory, as well as its interests. Their interests were linked to the criminal Assad regime. They can reconsider and take initiatives to establish contact with the new administration to show that they have no hostility towards the Syrian people and that the era of the Assad regime is finally over," Arnaut concluded.
