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Russia’s Kremlin Speeds Up Tartus Base Expansion

The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer
The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer
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Russia’s Kremlin Speeds Up Tartus Base Expansion

The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer
The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer

Russian President Vladimir Putin has referred the expansion of the Russian naval facility in Tartus to the State Duma. The parliament, in turn, confirmed its readiness to ratify the agreement by the end of this year.

State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house being the Council of the Federation.

The agreement was signed by the Russian Defense Ministry and the Syrian regime’s Defense Ministry on January 18, 2017, in Damascus.

Under the terms of the agreement, Russia has the right to use the naval base for 49 years, a period which commences as of signing and can be automatically extended for an additional quarter a century, without a fee.

Eleven Russian naval vessels are allowed to coincidentally dock at the base. Russia had begun construction on the extension before the signing of the agreement.

Russian labor aims to transform the base into a major hub able to host Russian fleet vessels, including nuclear submarines. The agreement also grants Russian individuals and their families present at the base diplomatic immunity across Syrian territory.

The Russian government announced on December 5 that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed the Tartus agreement and referred it to the Russian presidency for approval, and later presented it to both Houses of the Russian Parliament for ratification.

Russian parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the council plans to ratify the agreement by the end of this year.

"If the Duma sees to the agreement hastily, we are ready to ratify it by the end of the year," said Frants Klintsevich, First Deputy Head of the Federation Council (upper house) Committee on Defense and Security.

The move comes to litigate all arrangements to use Tartus base, while the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria continues at an "active" pace for the second day in a row.

Meanwhile, Russia’s special operations medical team returned home from Syria. According to data from the Russian Defense Ministry, over 200 military medical personnel were deployed on Syrian territory.

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US Shifts $100 Million in Military Aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon to Bolster Ceasefire

Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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US Shifts $100 Million in Military Aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon to Bolster Ceasefire

Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah.
In separate notices sent to Congress, the State Department said it was moving $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt and $7.5 million for Israel toward supporting the Lebanese army and its government. The notices were dated Jan. 3 and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Most of the money will go to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which have a critical role in standing up the ceasefire that was agreed to in November following an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months.
It is intended to help the LAF deploy in the south of the country and supplement the role of the UN peacekeeping mission patrolling the so-called Blue Line, which has separated Israel and Lebanon since the end of a monthlong Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
“Successful implementation (of the ceasefire) will require an empowered LAF, which will need robust assistance from the United States and other partners,” the State Department said in the notices, both of which used nearly identical language to explain the funding shifts.
Both Israel and Hezbollah agreed to pull their forces out of southern Lebanon before the end of January, with compliance to be overseen by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.
“US security assistance to the LAF increases its capacity as the country’s only legitimate military force and defender of Lebanon’s territorial integrity, enables the LAF to prevent potential destabilization from ISIS and other terrorist groups, and enables the LAF to provide security both for the Lebanese people and for US personnel,” the State Department said.
Pro-Israel members of Congress and others have in the past complained about any diversion of US assistance to Israel, although it was not immediately clear if there would be objections to such a small amount of shifted money.
At the same time, some of those who have been forceful advocates of Israel and critics of US assistance to the Lebanese military have often complained that it has been infiltrated by Hezbollah. The notices rejected that claim.
“US support to the LAF reinforces the LAF as an important institutional counterweight to Hezbollah, which receives weapons, training, and financial support from Iran,” the State Department said. “The LAF continues to be an independent, non-sectarian institution in Lebanon, and is respected across all sectors.”
In a third notice, also sent to Congress on Jan. 3, the department said it was going to provide $15 million to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to ensure that they become the primary law enforcement entity in the country and assist the LAF in controlling areas in the south.
That money will primarily be used to rebuild police stations, improve radio communications and purchase vehicles, the notice said.
The third notice also informed lawmakers that the administration would provide $3.06 million to the Palestinian Authority police to support its operations in the West Bank and $2.5 million to Jordan's Public Security Directorate to support its response to public demonstrations.