Data from the “Flightradar24” website, which specializes in tracking air traffic, showed at least two Russian aircraft flying towards the Latakia Governorate, where the Khmeimim base is located, during the last week of October.
The data indicated that an Ilyushin Il-62M transport aircraft belonging to the Russian Air Force took off from Libya heading to Latakia and then returned to the Moscow region on October 26, while a giant Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft arrived at the base three times since October 24, the last of which was last Wednesday.
Bloomberg quoted a source close to the Kremlin, who asked not to be identified, as saying that Russian military flights to Syria had officially resumed after a hiatus of several months, noting that Moscow is using its bases in Libya to expand its military influence in the Middle East and Africa.
In addition to the Khmeimim airbase, which is considered a key logistical point for Russia’s military operations in the region, Moscow also maintains the port of Tartus, which represents its only naval foothold in the Mediterranean.
According to Bloomberg, the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime a year ago and his refuge in Moscow raised questions about the future of cooperation between the Kremlin and the Syrian transitional government headed by President Ahmed al-Shara, and Moscow’s ability to maintain its military presence in Syria.
The agency pointed out that losing the two Russian bases in Syria – Khmeimim and Tartus – would represent a major strategic setback for the Kremlin, amid the ongoing confrontation with the United States and its European allies, nearly four years after the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
It also mentioned that US President Donald Trump is seeking to rebuild communication with the new Syrian government, as President Shara met twice this year, in parallel with Washington and the European Union easing some of the sanctions imposed on Damascus.
In return, Russian President Vladimir Putin met President Shara in Moscow two weeks ago, where they discussed the future of Russian military bases in Syria, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced through its official Telegram channel that Defense Minister Andrei Belousov had held talks with his Syrian counterpart, Mureh Abu Qasra, addressing the issue of bilateral military cooperation and the continuation of field coordination between the two countries.
According to previous reports by Bloomberg, Moscow is likely to maintain a military presence in Syria, but on a smaller scale than it was before the fall of Assad, due to the current political and economic conditions.
In a related context, a source close to the Kremlin revealed that a delegation from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in Moscow to discuss the reopening of the Syrian embassy and the resumption of consular work.
The official Syrian news agency “SANA” stated that the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to resume consular and administrative services for citizens in the next stage, in a move that reflects the return of political and diplomatic coordination between the two countries.
In a similar context, President Ahmed al-Shara spoke on Wednesday, during his participation in the Future Investment Initiative summit hosted by Riyadh, stressing that his government seeks to attract foreign investors to help rebuild the country and enhance economic confidence in the transitional phase.
