Preparation for Signing Syria Naval Base Deal in Final Stage – Russian Senator

The preparation for the signing of an agreement on a naval base in Syria's Tartus is at the final stage, a senior lawmaker in Russia's upper house of parliament said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In October, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow lans to establish a permanent naval base in the western Syrian port city of Tartus.

"As far as I know, [it is] at the final stage," Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, told reporters.

Tartus hosted the Russian Navy maintenance and support facility since 1977. Currently, the Tartus facility is the Russian Navy’s only support base in the Mediterranean Sea. It continues to perform its designated mission. The Tartus facility is manned exclusively by civilians.

On August 26, 2015, a Russian-Syrian unlimited-duration agreement was signed on the deployment of a Russian Air Force aviation group in Syria at the Hmeymim airbase. Ratification of the agreement is pending in the Russian lower house of parliament.