Russia says in contact with militants to keep military bases in Syria
Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov says Russia has established direct contacts with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in a bid to maintain its military bases in the Arab country despite the fall of the Syrian government.
Russia hopes to keep its military bases in Syria as they are important in the fight against terrorism, Bogdanov said, Interfax news agency reported on Friday.
The senior Russian diplomat noted that contacts with HTS were “proceeding in constructive fashion.”
Russia, Bogdanov said, hopes the group would fulfill its pledges to “guard against all excesses”, maintain order and ensure the safety of diplomats and other foreigners.
Moscow, he said, aims to maintain its two military bases in Syria – a naval base in Tartus city on the Mediterranean coast and Hmeimim Air Base southeast of the port city of Latakia – to continue “fighting international terrorism.”
“The bases are still there, where they were on Syrian territory. No other decisions have been made for the moment,” Bogdanov was quoted as saying.
“They were there at the Syrians’ request with the aim of fighting terrorists from Daesh. I am proceeding on the basis of the notion that everyone agrees that the fight against terrorism, and what remains of Daesh, is not over.”
Maintaining the fight, he said, “requires collective efforts and, in this connection, our presence and the Hmeimim base played an important role in the context of the overall fight against international terrorism.”
Militants launched a surprise two-pronged attack on Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib on November 27. They marched southward to seize control of several major cities, including Hama, Homs, Dara’a, and Suwayda, before entering and capturing the capital Damascus early on December 8, unseating the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
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