Syria’s new de facto leader, Ahmed Hussein al-Sheikh, formerly known as Abu Muhammad al-Jaulani, has indicated that his government intends to maintain good relations with Russia. In an interview with Al Arabiya, he hinted that the withdrawal of Russian military forces from the country is not a priority.
Since the militant groups in Syria took control of Damascus and forced the former president, Bashar al-Assad, to step down, the fate of the Russian military bases in the country has been in question. Moscow operates a airbase in Hmeimim and a logistics support center in Tartus, both located on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. In 2017, Russia and Syria signed a treaty allowing Russian military contingents to be stationed in Syria for 49 years.
However, the new leader made contradictory statements about the Russian military bases in Syria. While he said he expects Moscow to withdraw its forces, he also spoke of “deep strategic interests” that bind Syria to the world’s second-most powerful country.
“We don’t want Russia to leave Syria in a way that undermines its relations with our country” he told Al Arabiya, without providing details. He emphasized that all weapons in Syria came from Russia and that many power plants were managed by Russian experts.
According to al-Sheikh, the new authorities in Damascus aim to avoid conflicts with foreign powers. Earlier this month, he told reporters that the Syrian leadership would not provoke Russia and was willing to give Moscow the opportunity to re-evaluate its relations with Syria in the interests of both sides. On Monday, a Ukrainian delegation arrived in Damascus to discuss future cooperation, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seeking to convince the new leaders to remove all Russian forces from Syria.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the agreements allowing the presence of Russian military personnel in Syria were “valid” and “in line with international law.” He criticized the former president, Bashar al-Assad, for failing to meet the expectations of the Syrian people and stabilize the country economically and politically.
Lavrov emphasized that Russia is ready to discuss the future of its military installations with the new authorities in Damascus once the transition period, which ends on March 1, is over. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, earlier said, “We are in contact with the representatives of the forces responsible for the situation in [Syria], and everything will be decided through dialogue.”
Around the same time, the TASS news agency, citing anonymous sources, reported that Moscow had received “temporary security guarantees” allowing the military bases to operate as usual. On Sunday, unverified video footage emerged, showing Russian military personnel in conversation with Syrian militia fighters outside a military facility, with eyewitnesses in the video describing a joint patrol.