Russian representatives meet with HTS officials in Damascus after the fall of Al Assad

MADRID Dec. 12 () –

Russian diplomatic representatives held a meeting with officials of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) in the Syrian capital, Damascus, in which they discussed the security of their diplomatic mission, its citizens and its military bases in the country. after the fall of his ally, former president Bashar al Assad.

“These contacts are moving in a constructive direction and we hope that all the promises of the Russian representatives will be fulfilled,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov explained to the press, as reported by the TASS news agency.

The parties, who met in a hotel in Damascus, discussed the future of the two strategic bases that Moscow has in Syria: an airfield in Hmeimim, located in the province of Latakia, and a naval base in Tartus, capital of Syria. the homonymous province. They are the only ones in the Mediterranean Sea basin.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, already indicated the day before that they were in contact with the new authorities installed in Syria. “The issue of guaranteeing the security of these facilities is extremely important,” he said.

The offensive in Syria, launched on November 27 from the province of Idlib, allowed jihadists and rebels to take the capital and put an end to the regime of the Al Assad family, in power since 1971 – first with Hafez al Assad (1971-2000). ) and later with his son, Bashar–, in the face of a constant withdrawal of government troops, backed by Russia and Iran.