Russia pulls all troops out of Syria, denies ‘facility’ at Tartous was a base

Special to WorldTribune.com

MOSCOW — Russia was said to have withdrawn military
personnel from Syria.

A leading Russian newspaper said the military withdrew all of its
personnel from Syria. The Vedomosti business daily said the pullout included
the Russian Navy base at Tartous, the only such foreign naval facility
controlled by Moscow.

Russia's withdrawal of troops from Syria is said to include Navy personnel from its base at Tartous.
Russia’s withdrawal of troops from Syria is said to include Navy personnel from its base at Tartous.

“The decision to withdraw military personnel from Syria was connected to a desire not to endanger them in the civil war,” Vedomosti said. “It is clear that any incident with the Russian military will have adverse
political repercussions.”

In a report on June 26, Vedomosti said the Russian pullout was sparked by the expanding Sunni revolt in Syria. The Sunni revolt has included attacks on the Latakia province, where many Russian military personnel had been based.

The newspaper, citing a Defense Ministry source, did not say how many Russian military personnel were withdrawn. Vedomosti said the Defense Ministry, however, left an unspecified number of Russian military trainers who helped the Syrian Army.

Russia has been the leading supplier to Syria’s military. Over the last
year, Moscow has exported air defense systems and a coastal defense system
to the regime of President Bashar Assad.

On June 21, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov played down
the importance of the Russian Navy base in Tartous. The base, which
contained up to 600 Russian personnel, was said to have undergone
modernization over the last two years.

“In Tartous, we never had a base in the first place,” Bogdanov told the
Saudi-owned Al Hayat daily. “It is a technical facility for maintaining
ships sailing in the Mediterranean.”

“Today, the Russian Defense Ministry does not have a single person in
Syria,” Bogdanov added.

Still, Russia plans to maintain a significant naval combat force near
Syria. Vedomosti said the Kremlin has decided to deploy up to five warships
on a permanent basis in the eastern Mediterranean.

“These ships will be subject to regular rotation,” the Defense Ministry
source told Vedomosti. “There are no plans for their permanent base in
Tartous.”

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