August 17, 2026
Stimson - Amid Retreat in Syria, Russia Reassesses its Options in the Middle East
On August 9, Russia and Syria reached a deal that significantly reduces Russian control over two military outposts from the Assad era.
The Russian side tried to portray the agreement as an important step that would boost ties between the two states. “We believe that reaching this agreement will give further impetus to the development of the full range of relations between our countries, which are based on a long history of friendship and partnership,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry argued.
The reality could be strikingly different. Damascus is reinstating full control over the two facilities, including Hmeimim airport and the commercial berth at Tartus port. The military sections of the two facilities are to transition within three months into joint training facilities with a fraction of Russian troops, while the Dubai-based DP World logistics company modernizes Tartus and other Syrian ports.
The agreement is the result of nearly a year and a half of negotiations between Damascus and Moscow that started after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. In the first weeks after Assad’s downfall, Moscow rapidly reduced its footprint at the Hmeimim airbase and the naval facility at Tartous, and the new authorities in Damascus cancelled a long-term concession previously granted to the Russian engineering company Stroytransgaz. Russian forces also withdrew from Qamishli airport in northeastern Syria and curtailed patrols near the Israeli frontier.
Read the full article on The Stimson Center.
Emil Avdaliani is a Research Fellow at the Turan Research Center.