Syria and Russia to turn Russian military bases into joint training centers

Syria and Russia will convert Russian military bases into joint training centers. The parties have allocated a maximum of three months for the transition period.

This is reported by the Syrian state agency SANA.

Syria will also take control of Russian facilities used for civilian purposes, including the Khmeimim airbase and the fourth pier in the port of Tartus. Negotiations on this have lasted for about a year and a half.

In May, Russia significantly increased oil supplies to Syria, effectively becoming its main energy partner. Syria was threatened with new sanctions because of this.

Already in August, Syria informed the US of its readiness to reduce imports of Russian oil as part of negotiations to remove it from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

• On December 8, 2024, the Syrian opposition entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, and overthrew the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power for 24 years. Assad himself fled to Moscow.
• Syrian rebels formed a transitional government, led by Muhammad Bashir, who led the "Salvation Government" — a political structure created in 2017 in territories controlled by the Syrian opposition, primarily in the province of Idlib.
• The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group Ahmed al-Sharaa became the new president of Syria in January 2025.

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