Symbolic imageSyria and Russia turn Hmeimim and Tartus into joint training centres
Damascus and Moscow signed a memorandum on Sunday turning Russia's two bases on Syria's Mediterranean coast into joint training centres. Syria takes over the civilian facilities within three months.
The foreign ministry in Damascus, quoted by the state agency SANA, said the memorandum follows 18 months of talks and redefines the function of both facilities under arrangements meant to preserve mutual interests, the most significant step since negotiations began. Foreign Minister Assad Shibani inspected Latakia airport and Tartus port on Sunday, 9 August. Russia's foreign ministry had issued no comment, according to TASS and Le Monde.
Airport and berth handed over
Syria's civil aviation authority took over Latakia International Airport, next to Hmeimim, and began technical checks ahead of a rehabilitation plan to reopen it to flights. Syrian authorities said they also take over the commercial sites Russia ran at Tartus port, including Berth No. 4 and its warehouses.
A foothold since 1971
Russia has held a naval support facility at Tartus since 1971 and built the Hmeimim airbase in 2015 to support Bashar al-Assad; Putin approved permanent, free use of it in 2016. Le Monde calls the two sites Moscow's only official military outposts outside the former Soviet Union.
Other opinions
TASS led on the transfer of the Tartus commercial berth and Telesur headlined that Russia keeps both bases; the Financial Times, Bloomberg and the New York Times framed the memorandum as Syria taking control.