Russia has been operating a naval base in Tartous since the 1970s [Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images]
The Syrian transitional government has cancelled a contract over the management of Tartus Port with Russian firm STG Stroytransgaz.
The cancellation of the contract was because the company had failed to fulfil the terms of a 2019 deal that would have seen investments in infrastructure, according to Reuters citing three Syrian businessmen.
Syrian newspaper Al-Watan had previously reported the news, quoting the head of Tartus customs Riyad Joudi.
However, the contract only relates to the commercial base and not the Russian naval base in Tartus, which is Russia’s only naval base in the Mediterranean Sea.
The report comes following a report from the BBC Verify on Thursday that the Russian naval base in Tartus was being evacuated.
The report states that ships Sparta and Sparta II, which were linked to arms transportation, docked at the military section of the port on Tuesday and that large quantities of military equipment have been moved to the port in recent weeks.
The ships were seen off the coast of Syria amid alleged negotiations over the operation of the report were ongoing.
The Russian military base in Tartus was built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and is part of a military agreement that had been in place between it and the Syrian regime under Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez.
As Russia looks to leave Syria, Israel is fortifying its positions in newly occupied parts of southern Syria.
Satellite imagery obtained by BBC Verify showed that new Israeli fortifications were being constructed 600 meters past the Alpha line, inside the Area of Separation (AoS) which separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from southern Syria.
Development of the site is thought to have begun on 1 January, which includes a base as well as a road connecting it to Israeli-occupied territory.
Israeli launched an incursion into southern Syria following the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justifying the action saying that “we will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border.”
The action has prompted the Syrian transitional government to file a complaint with the UN, with the UN’s Disengagement Observer Force that operates in the area saying the construction in the AoS is a “severe violation” of the ceasefire agreement.
