The Russian and Syrian governments have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) allowing for continued access to Russian military facilities at the Syrian port of Tartus and Hmeimim airbase. The agreement follows several months of negotiations, which will see the bases “joint training and capacity-building centers within new arrangements that preserve mutual interests,” Syria’s official SANA news agency reported on August 8, quoting a Syrian foreign ministry statement.
The MOU has “set a time limit of no more than three months to complete the process,” SANA added. The civilian facilities at both bases will be handed over to Damascus.
The MOU followed two meetings in Moscow between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where reportedly the two leaders agreed to reactivate a framework agreement that would establish a regular shipping line between Russian and Syrian ports for raw materials and other Russian goods bound for Syria and other countries.
The Russian naval base occupied only a relatively small section of the Tartus Port, which is Syria’s second largest and is now being developed by DPWorld of the United Arab Emirates. Last June, the Russian-Syrian Business Council, a body operating under Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, was in discussion with Syrian authorities to establish an “assembly and distribution center for Russian goods at Tartus to create a commercial hub for Russia, which exports some 250,000 tons a month of cargo.
The project is being developed by Syrian logistics company Rus Line in cooperation with Russian companies grouped under the Russian-Syrian Business Council and would be under joint management with Syria’s Sovereign Fund. Pier number 4 at Tartus would be designated for cargo from Russia, initially comprising grains, animal feed, vegetable oils, timber, steel, ice, sugar and mineral oils. Russia supplies Syria with 85% of its grain imports. Another pier would be reserved for Russian warships.
