The Syrian Foreign Ministry announced that it had reached an understanding with the Russian government under which the Syrian government will manage civilian facilities previously controlled by Russia on Syria’s coast.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, cited the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Communications and Media on Sunday, August 9, as saying the civilian facilities to be managed by Syria include Hmeimim Airport and commercial berth No. 4 at Tartus Port (western Syria).

The department said the two sides also agreed to transform Russian military bases into joint training and capacity-building centers in a way that safeguards their mutual interests.

The memorandum of understanding set a three-month deadline to complete the transition, after which the new arrangements will enter into force.

The Foreign Ministry’s Department of Communications and Media said the understanding followed a year and a half of negotiations led by the ministry.

It said the step was the most significant since negotiations began and would contribute to building a new phase in Syrian-Russian relations.

Key Facilities Handed Over to Syria

The General Authority for Land and Sea Ports and Customs said the Syrian side had taken over commercial sites previously operated by Russia inside Tartus Port, including berth No. 4 and its associated warehouses and facilities.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport said Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited Latakia International Airport (western Syria), accompanied by the head of the aviation authority, Omar al-Hosari.

The authority added that the visit followed the signing of what it described as a historic Syrian-Russian memorandum of understanding, which paved the way for management of the airport to return to the Syrian side.

According to the aviation authority, the tour included an inspection of the airport and its facilities and a review of its operational readiness.

Previous Statements Differed

Syrian and Russian statements have differed in recent months over the role of Russian bases on Syrian territory. Russian officials said on more than one occasion that Russian bases in Syria could be transformed into humanitarian centers for transporting aid to Africa.

By contrast, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a dialogue session held by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, in London in March that arrangements were being made to turn Russian bases in Syria into centers for training the Syrian army.

The Syrian General Authority for Land and Sea Ports and Customs also denied the accuracy of a Reuters report that Russia intended to operate a commercial logistics center at Tartus Port, saying the information was “baseless.”

Mazen Alloush, the authority’s director of public relations, wrote on Facebook on July 9 that the authority categorically denied circulating claims about the operation of a Russian logistics center at the port, stressing the need for accuracy and for information to be obtained from official sources.

Russian Bases Repositioned

Following the major transformations Syria has undergone since the end of 2024, the Russian presence entered a period of significant repositioning after years of broad deployment that had established Moscow as one of the main actors in Syria since its direct military intervention alongside the former regime in September 2015.

By mid-2024, Russia had about 114 military bases and positions across Syrian governorates, with a notable concentration in Hama, Latakia, Tartus, al-Hasakah, Quneitra, and Aleppo, in addition to deployments in Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Damascus, and its countryside.

The deployment included major bases as well as military, security, and logistical positions. Among the most prominent were the Tartus naval base and Hmeimim Air Base, along with bases at Hama Airport, al-Shayrat Airport in Homs, Kuweires Airport in Aleppo, and Qamishli International Airport in northeastern Syria, reflecting the scale of Moscow’s field presence during that period.

That map began to change rapidly with the “Deterrence of Aggression” offensive, which began in late November 2024 and ended with the fall of the Assad regime on December 8 of the same year, after which the country entered a new phase that reshaped the balance of power.

During 2025, the number of Russian bases fell to just three before declining further with developments at the beginning of 2026. Russian forces withdrew in January from Qamishli International Airport in al-Hasakah governorate (northeastern Syria), as the map of territorial control in the northeast changed.

By February, Russia’s military presence had been limited to only two sites on the Syrian coast, Hmeimim Air Base and the Tartus naval base.

Syria’s new government has maintained good relations with Russia despite Moscow’s longstanding support for the Assad regime during the years of war. President Ahmed al-Sharaa has made two visits to Moscow, while other Syrian officials have also visited Russia for political and military meetings.