According to him, negotiations on this issue have "reached a deadlock." The bases in Khmeimim and Tartus allowed the aggressor country to exert influence in the Middle East and Africa, the agency notes.
Currently, Russian military activities at the Khmeimim airbase have been reduced. As for Tartus, two Russian transport ships have been waiting for several weeks for permission from the Syrian side to enter the port and collect military equipment from the base, the agency reports.
The message also states that Turkey opposes the Russian military presence in Syria. Two Turkish officials, in a conversation with journalists, consider it "very doubtful" that the new Syrian authorities will allow the Russians to remain at the bases after Russian planes bombed the currently victorious rebels while supporting the former head of the country, Bashar al-Assad.
On January 28, Russian propaganda agency TASS reported that the Moscow delegation arrived in Syria for the first time since Assad's overthrow.