After the fall of the regime of Bashar al—Assad, Russia withdraws its troops from the front line in northern Syria and from posts in the Alawite Mountains, but does not leave its two main bases - in Khmeimim and Tartus. It is reported by Reuters with reference to four Syrian officials.
Syrian military and security sources in contact with the Russians said Moscow was withdrawing its troops from the front line, as well as some heavy equipment and senior Syrian officers.
However, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Russia is not leaving its two main bases and does not intend to do so at the moment.
Some of the equipment and senior officers from Assad's armed forces are being sent to Russia, but the goal now is to regroup and redeploy in accordance with events on the ground, a senior Syrian army officer in contact with the Russian military told Reuters.
A senior rebel official close to the new interim administration, meanwhile, said that the issue of the Russian military presence in Syria and past agreements between the Assad government and Moscow are not being discussed.
"This is a matter for future negotiations, and the Syrian people will have the last word," the official said, noting that Moscow has established communication channels with the new authorities.
"Our forces are also now in close proximity to the Russian bases in Latakia," the source added, without going into details.
As EADaily reported, a Russian cargo plane took off today from the Russian Khmeimim airbase in the Syrian port city of Latakia to Libya. This was reported by Reuters with reference to an employee of the Syrian security services stationed near the facility.
According to the source, additional departures of Russians from the Khmeimim airbase are expected in the coming days.
The day before, EADaily reported that Russian military convoys from other provinces of Syria were moving towards the Khmeimim airbase in Latakia and the naval base in Tartus.
The corresponding videos appeared on the Web. The selection was posted by the telegram channel of the Ukrainian edition of Strana.
Russia is close to an agreement with the new Syrian authorities to maintain its military bases in the country. This was reported by Bloomberg.
Earlier it was reported that negotiations are underway for the Russian contingent to remain at the naval port in Tartus and at the airbase in Khmeimim. About it in Moscow, Europe and on In the Middle East, sources familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity, the agency reported.