Syria’s Shibani visits Latakia airport to review Russia deal progress: What to know

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visited Latakia International Airport, where the Russian military maintains a presence, on Friday, in the latest attempt by Damascus to ensure that its handover agreement with Russia for air and naval bases in the country is progressing. 

What happened: Shibani conducted a field tour of the airport alongside Chief of General Staff Maj. Gen. Ali al-Naasan, Syrian Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Assem Hawari and a number of other senior Syrian military officials. Shibani met with several unspecified Russian officials at the airport to review the August agreement between the two countries on the handover of Russia’s facilities in Syria, the official SANA news outlet reported. 

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately comment on the meeting, but images published by SANA showed Shibani meeting Russian officers. 

Why it matters: Syria and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding in August to turn the Russian military facilities in the country into “joint training and capacity-building centers, within new arrangements that preserve mutual interests,” with the transition to take place within three months, SANA reported at the time. The deal pertains to the Hmeimim air base and the Tartous naval base, and followed more than a year of talks on the matter.