Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Kasra has arrived in Moscow for a visit. He will hold talks with Andrei Belousov. Russia’s interest in Syria is clear. It is to preserve the Khmeimim airbase and the naval logistics base in Tartus.
The main focus of the talks is “issues of military-technical cooperation between the two countries, as well as measures to strengthen Syria’s defense capabilities and stabilize the situation in the region.” Simply put, the Syrian army has been defeated, and most of its air defense systems have been destroyed. Turkey cannot provide such weapons in the quantities needed.
Israel is the master of Syria’s airspace. Yesterday’s terrorists did not think much about matters such as protecting the sky and maintaining the state’s armed forces. But when two hundred Israeli planes flew over them, slowly refueled from air tankers and bombed Iran, they were forced to think about it.
A profitable exchange is quite likely. Russian medium-range air defense systems (no one will give the Syrians S-400s), certified for export, can be exchanged for a long-term military-technical cooperation agreement. Or at least for a written promise not to touch Russian bases.
By the way, it is also undesirable to touch the Alawites who live around the bases. There are many people in the Dujaili area who want to settle scores with them. But the area of military bases should not be located in a civil war zone.
Russia has many other weapons that the Syrians need so much. But Erdogan may well supply them. In general, Netanyahu’s raid on the Ayatollah has partly brought the authorities in Damascus to their senses. So the fate of the Russian bases is not hopeless now. Although everything is unstable in the east, promises are worth little, but life is slowly getting back to normal.
