Russia is preparing to completely abandon its military bases in Syria, says an internal document of the German Defense Ministry, seen today by DPA, BTA reports.
The Russian naval unit in the Mediterranean has already left its base in Tartus on the Syrian coast, the text notes. Security guarantees from the country's new leadership likely apply only to the withdrawal of Russian forces, and "not for a long-term stay," the document also says.
The Russian air base in Hmeimim south of the city of Latakia and the base in the port of Tartus were used to service a logistics center in Libya for Russian forces in Africa. The loss of the Hmeimim base is likely to make air transport from Russia to Libya more difficult, as aircraft will be able to transport smaller loads over a longer route, the German Defense Ministry's analysis predicts.
The transport of heavy goods without an intermediate base will only be possible if the right to fly over Turkey is preserved. "NATO is critical of this right," the document notes.
Although the loss of the Syrian bases will affect Russian logistics to and in Africa in the short and medium term, Russia's current military commitments in Africa will not be "significantly affected in principle," it adds.
Tartus was until now the only Russian base in the Eastern Mediterranean and its loss is likely to have a negative effect on the reliability of the Russian presence in the region, the document also says. It added that without an agreement with Syria's new rulers, Russia would only be able to "maintain a limited naval presence in the Mediterranean."