Russian warships have returned to the base in the Syrian port of Tartus, despite an agreement to hand over the facility to the Syrian authorities.
Modern.az reports that “Le Figaro” published this information.
According to the newspaper, in early September, the Russian destroyer “Admiral Levchenko”, the logistics vessel “Sparta”, and the supply vessel “Akademik Pashin” were observed in the port. The tanker “General Skobelev” was also part of that naval group.
According to the information, the ships moved south along the Spanish coast at the end of August. Although their official destination was Egypt, after passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, the ships turned off their transponders.
Later, satellite images confirmed that the flotilla had stopped in the port of Tartus and an unknown cargo was being unloaded.
“Le Figaro” writes that after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Russia's military presence in Syria significantly decreased: "Despite this, Moscow apparently maintains its positions in the country."
The newspaper believes that the new Syrian leadership needed some resources that only Russia could provide. Thus, a large part of Syria's arms reserves are of Russian production, and Damascus faced the necessity of replenishing those storages.
