A huge achievement for Putin: this is how Russia will strengthen its power in the Middle East

Russia registers a dramatic achievement, and apparently managed to maintain its military presence in Syria, in a new agreement that is expected to be signed with the government of Ahmed al-Shara in Damascus, Bloomberg reported yesterday. In another publication on Reuters, a Syrian source was quoted as saying that as part of the agreement, “Russian forces are also expected to remain in Syria.”

According to the various reports, it appears that the Russian army will train and train the Syrian army forces and the other security forces in the country – in exchange for remaining in the large military bases. In recent weeks, officials in Syria have confirmed that Moscow and Damascus are close to an agreement on the future of the Russian military presence in the country, and speculation has risen that Russia will be forced to withdraw its forces. In practice, it turns out that the situation is expected to be the opposite.

According to the report in Bloomberg, the Russian Navy will continue to have access to the port of Tartus in Syria, while the Russian Ministry of Defense will be able to continue to use the Chamayim Airport as a transportation, transit and logistics center, which, among other things, will continue to assist and support the Kremlin’s military activities in Africa.

It was also reported by a Russian source that the agreement creates a long-term legal basis for the Russian presence in Syria, and at the same time establishes ties with the government of President Al-Shara. According to him, Russian involvement in the training of Syria’s new armed forces will also help build trust between Moscow and Damascus.

A Syrian source familiar with the terms of the agreement told Reuters that Russian forces would still be stationed at the new training centers.

Keeping the military bases in Syria is a very important achievement for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sought to maintain a strategic foothold in the Mediterranean after the ouster of his ally Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 by Islamist rebels who Putin himself used to attack in Assad’s service. Russia helped Assad escape from Syria and gave him asylum in Moscow, and by an almost surprising coincidence, yesterday Assad and a number of his associates were sentenced to death in Syria.

Tartus is the only Russian naval base in the Mediterranean, and Moscow has maintained a presence there since 1983, since the days of the Soviet Union. Russia established the air force base in Chamayim in 2015, at the beginning of Russian involvement in the country during the days of the civil war, and used it to bomb opposition forces, including the forces of President al-Shara, then known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Jolani.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry announced the memorandum of understanding on Sunday, stating that the air and naval bases are to become “joint training and certification centers” within three months, according to the Syrian state news agency. Damascus will manage the civilian facilities at both sites, while the Russian presence on the Syrian coast will undergo a “reorganization,” as part of an agreement that will “protect the interests of both countries,” according to the SANA news agency.

According to the report, Moscow’s agreement with the Syrian authorities to change some of the functions of its military bases and allow the use of parts of the facilities for civilian needs allowed Russia to preserve them for use in its activities in Africa.

At the same time, the Russian State News Agency TASS reported that Russia will reopen its cultural center in Damascus, known as the “Russian House”, after a Russian delegation held talks with Syrian officials over the weekend.

Despite Putin’s support for Assad, al-Sharia did not demand an immediate Russian withdrawal from Khamayim and Matratus, even though Moscow greatly reduced its military presence there shortly after the new government took over the country. In the past it was reported that Al-Sharia demanded that Putin hand over Assad back to Syria as part of the deal between the two countries, but in the past there were estimates that it is unlikely that Putin would agree to the request.