Russia Plans to Deploy Permanent Naval Base in Syrian Port City of Tartous

MOSCOW- Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov  on Monday announced a plan to deploy a permanent naval base in the Syrian port city of Tartous.

According to Pankov, all the legal documents are ready and are waiting for approval by various agencies and departments. At present, a logistics support center for Russian warships is operating in Tartous and a Russian air group is deployed at Hmeymim airfield in Syria’s Latakia province, Itar Tass reported.

 The United Russia party will back the decision to deploy a permanent Russian naval base in the Syrian port of Tartous, Sergey Zheleznyak, a member of the Russian State Duma Committee for Foreign Affairs, told journalists.

“The United Russia faction and parliament on the whole is going to vote for Russia’s decision to deploy a permanent naval base in Syrian Tartous without fail because the country’s security and national interests are at stake. Russian parliament is always unanimous on such issues,” Zheleznyak stressed.

He believes that a permanent naval base in Syria will help fighting terrorism and counteracting international and regional threats. It will also contribute to strengthening the geopolitical balance of forces on the whole.

H.M