‘They need each other’: What’s behind the new Syria-Russia accord?

Syria and Russia have spent the past 18 months negotiating the fate of Moscow’s military presence in Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024.On Sunday, at least part of that question seemed to be settled after the post-Assad government in Damascus announced a memorandum of understanding regarding Moscow’s Hmeimim airbase and Tartus naval base.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Lebanon ‘detains’ former al-Assad-era general, weighs handing him to Syrialist 2 of 3What will it take for Syrians to return to Aleppo after years of war?list 3 of 3As Syria marks 15 years since anti-Assad uprising, security issues remainend of listRussia was a major Assad ally during Syria’s near 14-year civil war which began with Arab Spring protests in 2011 and ended when the current President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, led a lightning strike on Damascus and toppled the regime. Assad fled to Russia where he and his family were granted asylum.Under the new accord, Syria will take control of civilian facilities at the Hmeimim airbase and the commercial section of Tartus port.The military facilities will be transformed into joint Russian-Syrian training and qualification cent...