Tartus Naval Base

The facility began in 1971 as a Soviet naval supply and maintenance point on the northern edge of the port of Tartus, established under an agreement with Syria's then-government to give the Soviet Mediterranean fleet a foothold against the U.S. Sixth Fleet. Formally designated the 720th Material-Technical Support Point of the Russian Navy, it was staffed mainly by civilians for decades and remained a modest logistics stop rather than a full base. That changed after Russia's 2015 military intervention in the Syrian civil war, when Tartus took on a larger role supporting Russian naval operations, and in October 2016 Russia's deputy defense minister announced plans to convert it into a permanent naval base.

Russia and Syria formalized that shift on January 20, 2017, signing an agreement giving Russia a free, 49-year lease with automatic 25-year renewals, jurisdiction over the base itself, and the right to expand it to accommodate up to 11 Russian naval vessels simultaneously, including nuclear-powered vessels. Syria retained responsibility for the base's ground security while Russia handled its sea and air defense. In the years that followed, Tartus became a key hub supporting Russian naval logistics across the Mediterranean, and was also reported as a logistics and maritime transit point connected to Russia's wider operations in Africa.

The fall of the Assad government in December 2024 upended that arrangement. The new Syrian authorities, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, had fought Russian forces for years during the civil war and were unwilling to guarantee Moscow's continued presence. Russian forces began withdrawing personnel and equipment from Tartus within weeks, and in January 2025 Syrian forces reportedly blocked a Russian military convoy from entering the base, a sign of the deteriorating relationship. The Russian Navy's withdrawal from Tartus was largely complete by early March 2025, though the underlying treaty was described as suspended rather than terminated, and Russian vessels continued to use the facility as an occasional stopover through 2025 while its final status remained unresolved.

On August 9, 2026, Syria and Russia announced they had reached an agreement ending Moscow's military use of Tartus and the Khmeimim air base. Under the deal, Syria takes control of the commercial berth at Tartus port, while the remaining military facilities at both sites are converted into joint training and capacity-building centers. Syria's Foreign Ministry described the arrangement as the most significant development in roughly a year and a half of negotiations over the future of Russia's military presence on the Syrian coast.