Russian planes fly to Syrian military airbase again – Bloomberg

Russia has resumed flying military aircraft to Syria's Hmeimim airbase after a nearly six-month hiatus, as the two countries work to rebuild relations following the ouster of Moscow's ally, the dictator Bashar al-Assad. About reports bloomberg agency, citing a source close to the Kremlin and data from the aircraft tracking resource Flightradar24.

According to the latter, at least two Russian aircraft flew to the Latakia province in Syria, where the base is located. on October 26, an Il-62M transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force flew from Libya to Latakia and then to the Moscow region. At the same time, the An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft, which has a large cargo capacity, has arrived at the facility three times since October 24, the last time on October 29.

A person close to the Kremlin anonymously confirmed to the media that Russia was resuming such flights.

Earlier in October, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin met with Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Moscow, and the agenda included the future of Russian facilities (Hmeimim air base and the port of Tartus), the Kremlin spokesman confirmed Dmitry Peskov. Already on October 28, the aggressor country's defense minister Andrеу Belousov held talks with his Syrian counterpart Muraf Abu Qasra.

Even if Moscow manages to maintain a military presence in Syria, it will likely be smaller than before Assad's ouster, informed sources told Bloomberg in early 2025.

At the same time, a source close to the Kremlin said that a delegation in Moscow is working to reopen the country's embassy. Officials are planning to resume consular and administrative services for Syrian citizens, the SANA state news agency reported, citing the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

The day before, on October 29, president al-Sharaa spoke at a summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, saying that he would attract foreign investors to help rebuild his country after the war.

Earlier, Russia offered support to Syria. For example, in August, the Russian dictator said that Moscow was ready to help rebuild the country, and in August, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the aggressor country was ready to cooperate in various areas in this regard.

• After the overthrow of the pro-Russian Assad regime, Ukraine provided Syria with humanitarian aid, and in late September, Kyiv officially restored diplomatic relations with Damascus.
• Earlier, in July, Ukrainian military intelligence reported LIGA.net that at that time the Russian Federation kept a limited amount of equipment in Syria, as the Kremlin was trying to maintain its capabilities to influence the further course of events in the Middle East and Africa.