The first official Russian delegation since the fall of President Bashar Assad's regime arrived in Syria on January 28 to discuss the situation with its military bases. The delegation includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and the president's special representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, News.bg reports.
According to "Reuters", citing two Syrian sources, the delegation will meet with the new Syrian government.
Bogdanov told Russian state media RT that the visit aims to strengthen Russian-Syrian relations based on common interests. At the same time, Bloomberg reported, citing a Russian source, that Russia is having difficulty maintaining access to the Hmeimim air base and the port of Tartus, and negotiations with the Syrian authorities are at a standstill.
The Russian military continues to evacuate assets from Tartus. According to satellite images from January 18 and 27, collected by Planet Labs PBC, Russian cargo ships Sparta and Sparta II have loaded equipment and left the port.
Russian bloggers express doubts about the future of Russian-Syrian relations, warning against standard official statements of cooperation. According to them, Russia no longer considers Syria a top priority and it is not excluded that "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" (HTS) will extract additional concessions from Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry continues to modernize its drone systems. According to the Victory Drones initiative, by April 2024 The 7th Separate Strike Regiment for Unmanned Reconnaissance Systems was created in the Central Military District, with 94% of its personnel filled. Various Russian volunteer groups have begun crowdfunding this regiment.
NATO is closely monitoring Russia's actions, noting an increase in sabotage operations against Western countries. According to NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General James Appathurai, Russia is seeking to undermine support for Ukraine through cyberattacks and sabotage.
The Kremlin continues to employ hybrid tactics against NATO, which, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), indicates that Moscow perceives itself as at war with the alliance, although this is not officially recognized.