Joseph Trevithick
What will happen to highly strategic Russian air and naval bases in Syria is now very much an open question following the downfall of long-time strongman Bashar Al Assad. Though Russia has pulled back forces, it is unclear whether there are plans to abandon the crucial facilities for good. There are now signs that the Kremlin could be looking to cut a deal with the same rebels it has spent the better part of the last decade fighting.
The current situation in Syria is extremely fluid following the final and total collapse this weekend of the brutal decades-old Assad regime. It took the Command of Military Operations rebel coalition, with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) at its helm, some two weeks to steamroll its way from areas under its control in the northwest to the capital Damascus. Other rebel factors, including U.S.-backed predominantly Kurdish forces in the east, had subsequently launched their own offensives.
Rebel forces are now in at least de facto control of Syria’s Latakia and Tartus regions, which are home to Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base and Tartus naval base, respectively.
“Yesterday, the opposition took full control of the Latakia province, including the cities of Tartus and Jableh [near Khmeimim],” Russian state media outlet TASS reported earlier today citing an unnamed “local” source. “The opposition’s armed forces did not and have no plans to penetrate the Russian military bases, which continue to operate normally.”
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