Russian presence in Syria remains. But it's unclear for how long

HMEIMIM, Syria — A convoy of Russian military vehicles rolled down the highway towards the Syrian city of Tartus on Monday as soldiers stood guard.

Planes periodically descended and rose from Russia's Hmeimim air base in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia while smoke rose from the base. It was unclear what was burning.

In the streets of Hmeimim, a town dotted with orange groves, many of the shops bear signs in Russian, a nod to the significance of the Russian military presence.

But whether and how long that presence will last after the fall of former Syrian leader Bashar Assad is now an open question.

Russia's scorched-earth intervention on behalf of its ally, Assad, once turned the tide of the Syrian civil war. In 2017, Assad's government signed a deal with Russia that offered it a free lease of the Hmeimim air base and the Tartus naval base for 49 years.

But opposition forces in the country's northwest launched a shock offensive last month that again threatened Assad's rule. This time, Moscow largely stood aside — although it has granted asylum to the former president and his family.

On Monday, in his first public statement since his ouster, Assad said he had left Damascus for the Hmeimim air base on Dec. 8 after insurgents stormed the capital, but hadn't planned to flee the country.

Since Assad's departure, there have been no clashes between Russian troops and the former insurgents who have suddenly become the de facto security forces for all of Syria.

That's despite the fact that many of the fighters are from areas of northern Syria that came under frequent Russian bombardment and have little love for Moscow.

A fighter guarding the shuttered civilian airport next to the Hmeimim base said Monday, ''The Russians are preparing to withdraw from Syria, God willing.''

He gave only his nickname, Abu Saif, because he wasn't authorized to comment publicly.

Russian forces have pulled out of some areas of Syria. Russian forces and military vehicles were seen withdrawing from southern Syria on Friday toward their primary base in the city of Latakia.

Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Friday show what appear to be cargo planes at a Russian military airfield in Syria with their nose cones opened to receive heavy equipment, along with helicopters being dismantled and prepared for transport.

Moscow has reached out to the new Syrian authorities to try to ensure the security of its bases and extend its forces' stay. The three-starred flag of the Syrian revolution was quickly hoisted at the Syrian Embassy in Moscow in place of the old government's two-starred flag.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Obeida Arnaout, spokesman for the political department of the new transitional government, called on Russia to ''reconsider its presence'' in Syria, as well as its interests.

But he didn't rule out the possibility that Russian forces could remain.

''Their interests were linked to the criminal Assad regime. They can reconsider and take the initiatives to reach out to the new administration to show that they have no animosity toward the Syrian people, and that the era of Assad regime is finally over," Arnaout said.

''We are in contact with representatives of the forces that are currently in control of the situation in the country, and all of this will be determined in the course of dialogue,'' Peskov said.

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