KABUL (Pajhwok): A convoy of Russian military and cargo vessels has delivered supplies to Syrian coastal facilities long used by Moscow’s forces for the first time since an agreement was reached last month between Damascus and Moscow on the future of Russia’s military presence in Syria, Reuters reports.
Two sources familiar with the operation told Reuters that the convoy delivered supplies to the Syrian coastal facilities last week.
According to the report, the operation is the first indication that Moscow is continuing to supply its facilities at the port of Tartus and Hmeimim airbase in Syria under the new agreement.
Under the new agreement, non-military facilities used by Russia will be handed over to Syria, while military facilities will be converted into joint training centres and Russian forces will remain at the bases.
According to the report, Russia has expanded its presence and activities in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa through Hmeimim airbase and the Tartus facilities. Tartus is also considered the Russian navy’s only facility in the Mediterranean for repairing and supplying its vessels.
The report added that Moscow had also delivered supplies to both locations in recent months before the August 9 agreement was announced, but last week’s operation is considered the first such delivery since the agreement was announced.
Based on vessel-tracking data jointly reviewed with maritime intelligence company Sinmax, Reuters reported that a convoy of four Russian vessels arrived at the port of Tartus on September 7.
Damascus and Moscow reached an agreement on the future of Hmeimim and Tartus following 18 months of negotiations after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024.
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