Syria and Russia agree to end Moscow's military use of key Mediterranean bases
Syria says it has reached an agreement with Russia that will end Moscow's military use of two strategic Mediterranean sites, including Hmeimim air base and part of Tartous port. The announcement marks a major shift in control over facilities that were long used as Russian outposts during Syria's civil war. Under the deal, Damascus will take control of the air base and the commercial berth at Tartous as part of its civil administration.
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According to Syria's foreign ministry, the remaining military facilities at both locations will be converted into joint training and qualification centres. The ministry said the arrangement represents a reorganisation of the Russian presence along Syria's coast. It also described the move as the most significant development since negotiations began about a year and a half ago.
The agreement comes after years in which Russia was the main political and military ally of former President Bashar al-Assad. The supporting material says Moscow backed Assad between 2011 and 2024, when Syria was fighting an Islamist-led armed opposition that included current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa as a prominent militant leader. After Assad's ouster, Russian troops remaining in Syria gradually left the country, while Moscow also provided asylum to Assad and his family.
The change matters because Hmeimim and Tartous were central to Russia's military footprint in the eastern Mediterranean. Their status has long been tied to Syria's wider war and to Moscow's influence on the coast. A shift from military outposts to joint training centres suggests a narrower Russian role and a stronger hand for Damascus in managing strategic infrastructure.
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The new arrangement also fits into a broader period of diplomatic repositioning for Syria's new leadership. The supporting material says al-Sharaa has visited President Vladimir Putin in Moscow twice since taking power, with the two bases among the key issues discussed. It also notes that Syria has strengthened ties with the United States, Europe and neighbouring Arab countries that had cut relations with Damascus during Assad's rule.
Russia had not immediately commented on the agreement in the material provided, and some details of how the transition will work remain unclear. It is not yet known how quickly the handover of the air base and port berth will proceed, or what the joint training centres will look like in practice. What happens next will be watched closely for signs of how far the new Syrian-Russian relationship will extend and how much Russian military influence remains on Syria's coast.
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