Moscow [Russia], January 24: Russian military transport ships have arrived at the Syrian port of Tartus in preparation for Moscow's planned withdrawal after years of presence.
The Kyiv Independent cited data from the ship tracking site MarineTraffic on January 22 that the Russian transport ship Sparta 2 had docked at the port of Tartus in Syria after weeks of drifting in the Mediterranean.
The Sparta 2 left the port of Baltiysk in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast on December 11, 2024, and has been near Tartus since January 5. British media reported that the Sparta 1 and Sparta 2 docked at Tartus on January 21. Both ships are subject to US sanctions.
The presence of the two transport ships is believed to be aimed at removing Russian military equipment from Syria. After the regime of former Russian ally Bashar al-Assad collapsed late last year, the future of Moscow's military bases in Syria, including the Tartus naval port and Hmeimim airport, was thrown into doubt.
A large amount of military equipment has been transferred from other parts of Syria to Tartus in recent weeks, supposedly in preparation for shipment. However, because the transport ships have not been allowed to dock, the equipment remains stuck. On January 21, Insider reported that the Syrian government has allowed the ships to dock.
Syrian media recently reported that the new government in Damascus has decided to terminate the agreement to lease the port of Tartus to Russia . Russia signed an agreement with Syria in 2019 to lease the port for 49 years. Moscow pledged to invest at least half a billion dollars to modernize the port.
Russia and Syria both declined to comment on the news of the deal being canceled.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
