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Syria, Russia Resurrect Naval Fleet
BEIRUT, Sept 13--Russia has said that it is renovating a Syrian port for use by the Russian fleet, signaling an effort to reinforce its cooperation with its former ally.
The
Itar-Tass news agency reported that a vessel from Russia's Black Sea fleet had begun restoring facilities at Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus for use by the Russian military.
The two countries' naval chiefs also met
in Moscow Friday and discussed "further strengthening mutual trust and mutual understanding between the two states' fleets," a Russian naval official, Igor Dygalo, told Itar-Tass.
In late August, Russia's
ambassador to Damascus, Igor Belyev, said Russian ships already patrol the area, but "a new development is that the Russian presence in the Mediterranean will become permanent".
The Russian navy's closest
access to the Mediterranean is through the Black Sea, where they have a strong naval presence.
But that area has seen an increase in NATO naval activity after the Georgia conflict, prompting Russian complaints that NATO
has exceeded ship numbers permitted there under international agreements.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday that Russia would build economic and military ties with nations willing to do so even if the West
dislikes some of these alliances.
"There are many other interesting places in the world with governments maintaining friendly ties with us," he said. "And if they like developing economic, humanitarian and
military ties with us, we won't say no."
Russian military experts said Tartus would be a considerable boost for operations in the Mediterranean.
"It is much more advantageous to have such a facility than
to return ships patrolling the Mediterranean to their home bases," former Black Sea Fleet commander Adm. Eduard Baltin said.
The former first deputy commander the Russian Navy, Adm. Igor Kasatonov, said Tartus
"is of great geopolitical significance considering that it is the only such Russian facility abroad".
The former Soviet Union had a maintenance and supply facility in Tartus under a 1971 agreement with
Damascus, but the deal ended with the fall of the Communist regime in Moscow.
Currently the facility at Tartus consists of three floating piers, one of which is currently operational, one floating repair shop,
warehouses, barracks and other facilities, according to Russian press reports.
Assad made a visit to Moscow last month. Before the trip, he told the Russian business daily Kommersant that Syria was "ready to
cooperate with Russia in any way," including discussing deploying missile defense systems on Syrian territory.
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