Russia has ‘informal understanding’ with new Syrian leadership to keep Tartus and Khmeimim bases — Bloomberg

Despite early indications that Russia might lose access to its two military bases in the Middle East with Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, Moscow is “nearing an agreement with Syria’s new leadership” to keep its forces at the naval port in Tartus and the air base at Khmeimim, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Russia’s Defense Ministry “believes it has an informal understanding” with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus, sources told the news outlet, cautioning that the situation could still change “amid the instability.”

“I assume that everyone agrees that the fight against terrorism and the remnants of ISIS is not over,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told the Russian state media earlier this week. Russian diplomats recently met with HTS representatives to discuss security issues for the diplomatic mission and Russian citizens in Syria, Bogdanov confirmed.