With Syria’s Tartous port nearly evacuated, is Russia moving naval assets to Libya?
Russia is moving its troops and equipment in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, with the Kremlin saying no decision has been taken about the Russian military status in the country as of yet.
Russia appears to be withdrawing its troops and military equipment from Syria more than a week after the fall of its close ally Bashar al-Assad, sparking uncertainty about its military future in the country.
Several media outlets have reported on Russian military movements inside Syria over the past week, particularly in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartous, where Russia operates its two main military bases. The Kremlin stated on Monday that it has yet to make a final decision on its military presence in Syria.
“There are no final decisions on this,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. “We are in contact with representatives of the forces that now control the situation in the country.”
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the transitional government’s political department in Syria, Obeida Arnaout, urged Russia to reconsider its presence and interests in Syria. “Their interests were linked to the criminal Assad regime. They can reconsider and take the initiatives to reach out to the new administration to show that they have no animosity toward the Syrian people, and that the era of Assad’s regime is finally over,” Arnaout said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday.
