The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has called the signing of a memorandum with Syria on the operation of Russian military bases in Tartous and Hmeimim an important step for the development of bilateral cooperation in the military sphere.

“We [i.e. Russia] consider the memorandum signed on August 9 between the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic on the matter of operation of our bases in Hmeimim and Tartous as an important step aimed at further improving bilateral cooperation in the military sphere and strengthening the contractual and legal basis for sectoral cooperation in the new conditions,” RIA Novosti was told by the Russian MFA.

Earlier, Moscow and Damascus had reported on reaching an agreement on the aforesaid Russian military bases. According to the respective statement from the Syrian MFA, the parties signed a memorandum on the reorganizing of the Russian presence in the Syrian coastal zone, including the transfer of civilian facilities to the Damascus administration, and the transformation of Russian military bases into joint training centers.