Moscow: Russia is still in talks with the Syrian side on the status of Russia’s military bases in the country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
The spokesman said that no final decisions have been made on the issue so far.
“We are in contact with the representatives of the forces that are in control of the situation in the country. Everything will be determined through dialogue,” he said at a briefing when commenting on the future of Russia’s bases in Syria.
Russia currently operates two military bases in Syria: a naval base in the port city of Tartus and an air base near Jableh.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Moscow has evacuated some of its diplomats out of the Syrian capital Damascus while its embassy continues to function.
The diplomats were transported by a Russian Aerospace Forces flight from the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria to Moscow, the ministry said in a statement.
The flight also carried diplomats from Belarus and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, it added.
Last week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov had said that Moscow hopes to keep its military bases in Syria as they are important in the fight against terrorism.
“I think there is general agreement that the fight against terrorism and the Islamic State is not over, it requires collective efforts. In this regard, our presence played an important role in the fight against international terrorism,” state-run RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing Bogdanov.
The Russian diplomat added that Moscow has established contacts with the political committee of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and discussed issues of ensuring the security of the Russian diplomatic mission and citizens in the country.
(IANS)
