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Russian Naval Ships Arrive at Syria's Tartus

Russian assault ships arrive in Syria (Sputnik)
Russian assault ships arrive in Syria (Sputnik)
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Russian Naval Ships Arrive at Syria's Tartus

Russian assault ships arrive in Syria (Sputnik)
Russian assault ships arrive in Syria (Sputnik)

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that six amphibious assault ships of the Russian Northern and Baltic Fleet had arrived at the Russian Navy's logistics center in Tartus, western Syria.

In a statement, the ministry's press office said that the naval task force is made up of the large amphibious assault ships Pyotr Morgunov, Georgy Pobedonosets, Olenegorsky Gornyak, Korolyov, Minsk, and Kaliningrad.

The fleet completed its transit around Europe and arrived in the eastern Mediterranean as part of the drills under Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov, the ministry said.

The ships have traveled more than 6000 nautical miles, and the vessels are currently anchored in the port of Tartus, on the coast of Syria, where they supply fuel, drinking water, and foodstuffs.

Moscow and Damascus signed an agreement on expanding the Russian war fleet's material and technical supply center in Tartus.

The agreement allows the presence of 11 warships, including nuclear ones, for 49 years, with the possibility of automatic renewal for 25 years.

The agreement, which entered into effect on January 18, 2017, stipulates that Russia will protect the supply center of its fleet in the sea and the air, and Syria will defend the center from land.

The document stipulates that the Syrian side will hand over to Russia lands and waters in Tartus for free use throughout the term of the agreement and real estate that has not been officially announced.

A Russian military source at the Russian Hmeimim military base revealed that the Russian military police are conducting regular patrols in and around the ports of Latakia and Tartus to protect them from any attacks that terrorist groups may carry out.

Sputnik news agency quoted a Russian military source saying that the Russian reconnaissance aircrafts launched their activities in monitoring the various sections and stations of the Latakia port completely and around the clock.

The Russian forces continue to patrol the port and its nearby area.

The Russian "Rus Vesna" website reported last Monday that the Russian military police conducts several patrols inside the port of Latakia to prevent new attacks.

The measure is the first of its kind in the vicinity of the port used by Iran to transport its imports to Syria, under an agreement that allows regular freight between Bandar Abbas port and Lattakia port.

In recent weeks, the vicinity of Latakia port was attacked twice, and the Syrian air defenses intercepted the strikes, according to state-owned Syrian media.

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Syria Vows to Rid Itself of Assad’s Chemical Weapons Legacy

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani speaks during a national dialogue, a key milestone in the transition to a new political system after decades of Assad rule, in Damascus, Syria February 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani speaks during a national dialogue, a key milestone in the transition to a new political system after decades of Assad rule, in Damascus, Syria February 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria Vows to Rid Itself of Assad’s Chemical Weapons Legacy

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani speaks during a national dialogue, a key milestone in the transition to a new political system after decades of Assad rule, in Damascus, Syria February 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani speaks during a national dialogue, a key milestone in the transition to a new political system after decades of Assad rule, in Damascus, Syria February 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Syria's foreign minister vowed on Wednesday to swiftly rid the country of chemical weapons remaining after the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad's government, and appealed to the international community for help.

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani spoke during closed-door meetings at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, where he became the first Syrian foreign minister to address the disarmament agency.

Following a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people in 2013, Assad-led Syria joined the agency under a US-Russian deal and 1,300 metric tons of chemical weapons and precursors were destroyed.

But three inquiries - by a joint UN-OPCW mechanism, the OPCW's Investigation and Identification team, and a UN war crimes probe - concluded that Syrian government forces under Assad used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine barrel bombs in attacks during the civil war that killed or injured thousands.

As part of membership, Damascus was supposed to undergo inspections but for more than a decade the OPCW was prevented from uncovering the true scale of the chemical weapons program.

"Syria is ready ... to solve this decades-old problem imposed on us by a previous regime," Shibani told delegates.

"The legal obligations resulting from breaches are ones we inherited, not created. Nevertheless, our commitment is to dismantle whatever may be left from it, to put an end to this painful legacy and ensure Syria becomes a nation aligned with international norms."

Earlier on Wednesday, OPCW chief Fernando Arias called Syria's political shift "a new and historic opportunity to obtain clarifications on the full extent and scope of the Syrian chemical weapons program".

Shibani said planning had begun, but that the help of the international community would be critical. Syria would require technical assistance, logistical assistance, capacity building, resources and expertise on the ground, he said.

"Although the Assad regime stalled for many years, we understand the need to act quickly, but we also understand that this needs to be done thoroughly. For that, we cannot succeed alone," he said.

Syria's declared stockpile has never accurately reflected the situation on the ground, OPCW inspectors have concluded. They now want to visit roughly 100 sites that may have been tied to Assad's decades-old chemical weapons program.