
Türkiye’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Russia’s presence on the Syrian coast following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime requires adjustments, in an interview with Saudi newspaper Asharq News.
While Moscow and Ankara have discussed the situation in Syria, Fidan emphasized that Türkiye cannot speak on behalf of the new Syrian government.
“Of course, Russia has made a request that the new Syrian government is currently evaluating. Relations between the two countries continue, and they could be positive as long as each country’s sovereignty is respected,” Fidan said.
British intelligence says considerable uncertainty remains regarding Russia’s future presence in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
On Jan. 26, it was reported that Russian forces likely began evacuating military equipment and supplies onto Russian ships in the Syrian port of Tartus.
This followed the new de facto Syrian administration’s decision to annul a contract with the Russian company Budtransgaz for the management and operation of the port, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In 2017, Syria’s al-Assad regime signed a 49-year lease agreement with Russia for the Tartus port, a facility once used by the USSR. The agreement included Russian investments totaling $500 million.
“All revenues from the port’s operations are now directed to benefit the Syrian state,” said Riyad Joudi, head of customs in Tartus.
Kyiv welcomed Syria’s decision to annul the agreement with Russia.
“We believe that this step testifies to the patriotism and determination of the new Syrian authorities in restoring the national sovereignty of Syria as a state over the objects of transport economic infrastructure and returning them to the ownership of the Syrian people, as it should be,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Earlier in January, Ukraine sent its first shipment of humanitarian aid to Syria – 500 tons of flour – as part of the Grain from Ukraine program.
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