Putin abandons Syria base to court new Islamist leader

Russia has abandoned its military base at an airport in north-east Syria, where pro-government forces are seizing control from the Kurds.

The rapid withdrawal of troops and equipment is a sign of Moscow’s shifting allegiance to the new government, after previously backing the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad. It leaves two Russian bases in Syria, both on the west coast.

The soldiers and kit are likely to be sent to Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin was a key ally of Assad during Syria’s civil war. In 2014, he ordered air strikes on areas controlled by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was the leader of an al-Qaeda affiliate but is now president. Russian troops have been stationed at Qamishli airport in Kurdish territory since 2019.

After Assad was deposed in 2024, Moscow chose not to intervene. Putin is instead seeking favour with the Islamist, pro-Western Mr Sharaa, who visited the Kremlin on Wednesday.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said the two leaders would discuss economic cooperation and the situation in the region. He said: “I have no ‍doubt that all issues related to the presence of our troops in Syria will also be raised during today’s talks.”

This month, Mr Sharaa launched a fresh operation aimed at exerting centralised control over Syria’s embattled Kurdish settlements.

Abdulkarim Omar, a senior Syrian Kurdish official, said Russian forces had abandoned the isolated regions under Kurdish control, and Islamist militias and tribal forces were closing in on Qamishli.

When The Telegraph arrived at the base on Jan 27, Russian flags were being taken down and military vehicles were moving supplies ready for the evacuation. Buildings stood empty, and shopkeepers complained soldiers had fled without paying their bills for soft drinks and cigarettes.

The abrupt withdrawal came just before Mr Sharaa visited the Kremlin for talks with Putin, with Russia’s continued military presence in Syria top of the agenda.

Mr Omar said he believed Moscow had sacrificed its outpost in Kurdish territory in favour of a continued presence on the government-controlled Syrian coast. He said: “Russia wants to retain its base on the Mediterranean,” referring to the Hmeimim Air Base and Tartus naval facility on the west coast of Syria.

The Russia-Ukraine war has forced Moscow to tighten the purse strings, and it is seeking to maintain regional power projection while reducing its military footprint.

A member of the US-trained Kurdish forces on guard outside the former base in Qamishli said: “We don’t really care if the Russians leave. They don’t do anything, just drive around on patrol, eat, and sleep. We have some degree of coordination with the Russians, but a much deeper connection with the Americans.”

That relationship, which saw the US, UK and other foreign powers work with Kurdish ground forces to defeat Islamic State (IS), also appears to have expired. Washington gave the go-ahead to Mr Al-Sharaa’s military operation, and US forces also appear to be on the way out.

Tom Barrack, Donald Trump’s appointed Syrian envoy, has announced an effective end to the US’s decade-old partnership with Syrian Kurdish forces in favour of Damascus.

The policy shift has prompted US efforts to fly an estimated 7,000 IS militants being detained by the Kurdish forces to neighbouring Iraq, even as Mr Al-Sharaa’s forces continue to overrun prisons and detention centres formerly administered by the Kurds.

Both Washington and Moscow are now aligning behind Mr Al-Sharaa. Mr Omar said: “Al-Sharaa is reaching agreements with everyone. With Russia, Israel, Turkey, the Gulf states. Anything it takes to remain in power.”

This includes an understanding with Israel over its de facto occupation of southern Syria, which Mr Omar says cleared the way for Mr Al-Sharaa’s latest anti-Kurdish offensive.

Israel and Turkey, the favoured partners of the US in the region, have emerged as the dominant forces in the new Syria, further squeezing out Moscow.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]