Kateryna Chernoval23:32, 17.12.24

Western analysts and intelligence officials say the Kremlin is carrying out a large-scale troop withdrawal from Syria, although Moscow has not yet confirmed this.

There is no place for a Russian presence in Syria , said Obeida Arnaut, a spokesman for the country’s transitional government . 

This is reported by Euronews . It is noted that Russia has been urged to reconsider its presence in Syria after the fall of the regime of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s ally Bashar al-Assad. At the same time, Syria is open to contacts with all countries to build a new future for the country. 

Russia had two military bases in Syria: the Khmeimim air base near the port city of Latakia and the Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean coast. Both were considered among the Kremlin’s most strategically important military outposts in the region.

The base in Tartus is particularly important because it provides Russia with its only direct access to the Mediterranean Sea and is a base for conducting naval exercises, basing warships, and even basing nuclear submarines.

Western analysts and intelligence agencies say the Kremlin is carrying out a large-scale troop withdrawal from Syria, although Moscow has yet to confirm this. At the same time, a spokesman for Syria’s new transitional government says Russia’s recent actions in Syria have been mixed. He stressed that the decision to withdraw naval ships from ports and relocate military equipment from bases does not give a clear picture of whether the Kremlin is actually withdrawing troops or whether this is part of its regular movements.

“I think Russia should reconsider its presence on Syrian territory, as well as its interests. Their interests were linked to the criminal Assad regime. They can reconsider their position and take the initiative to reach out to the new administration to show that they have no animosity towards the Syrian people, and that the era of the Assad regime is finally over,” Arnaut added.

(C)UNIAN 2024