Russia’s Hopes for Syrian Naval Base Linger On

While the new government of Syria has terminated the Russian lease on the commercial seaport of Tartus, Moscow still holds out hope that it can keep a small sliver of the harbor that serves as a naval station, according to Russian outlets Izvestia and TASS.

Russia has had a “support point” at Tartus since 1971, the year that Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad seized power and signed an accord with the Soviet government. Over the decades, the pier became the Russian Navy’s sole base in the Mediterranean, an essential refueling and repair station for the Mediterranean Flotilla. With the overthrow of Hafez’s son Bashar al-Assad in December, its future seems in doubt and Moscow is negotiating with former enemies – Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, a banned organization in Russia – over the base’s survival. 

Earlier this week, it appeared th…