MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Russia was a key ally to Syria for decades, propping up its economy and its military. Russia also helped Bashar al-Assad fight the very rebels who now control Syria after toppling the regime last month. But with Russian bases still active on Syrian soil, the question is, what's the next move for Syria's interim government? NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi paid a rare visit to Russia's army base in Latakia and brings us this report.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: There's a large picture of President Vladimir Putin looming over the entrance of the Khmeimim Russian Air Base in Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast. Five armed Russian soldiers - a couple of them masked - mill around in front of the main guard post.
(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE ENGINE RUNNING)
AL-SHALCHI: They smoke and laugh.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER #1: (Speaking Russian).
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER #2: (Speaking Russian).
AL-SHALCHI: "We've got to get out of here, brother," one says. "Where do you want to go?" A short while later...
(SOUNDBITE OF MILITARY VEHICLES DRIVING PAST)
AL-SHALCHI: ...About a dozen military vehicles roll out of the base, the Russian flag flying on the dashboards. They're carrying bombs, heavy equipment and other military supplies. Abu al-Yamam is the Syrian rebel who coordinates the Russian convoys movements.
ABU AL-YAMAM: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "It depends," he says. "Some mornings, they go out two or three times." The Khmeimim base was built in 2015 in a village of the same name. From here, the Russians helped Bashar al-Assad fight opposition forces in his 13-year civil war. Those rebels, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, toppled Assad last December, and Russia has been slowly clearing out. Some of the supplies leaving Khmeimim are going to Russia's naval base in Syria, in the port of Tartus 30 miles away. From there, some supplies are shipped to Russian bases in Africa. Last week, Syrian media reported that HTS ended a 49-year contract with a Russian company that controlled the port of Tartus. The naval base will still remain. But Joshua Landis says HTS may be sending a message by terminating that contract. Landis is the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
JOSHUA LANDIS: This is a new day. We're doing things in a new way. We have switched our allegiances.
AL-SHALCHI: Landis says not to make too much of it, though.
LANDIS: Syria is going to have to cut off relations for the short-term, but that doesn't mean that they won't return and make up with Russia.
AL-SHALCHI: HTS wants to be taken seriously internally and internationally. And there's one way to do that.
LANDIS: When you look at today, where can it go? Who can it get arms from? Who's going to rebuild their army?
AL-SHALCHI: Landis says help from Turkey and Qatar, who funded HTS during the war, isn't enough. And leaning on the United States comes with its own complications. The U.S. still has sanctions on Syria, whose neighbor, Israel, is Washington's closest ally in the region and has been officially at war with Syria for almost 70 years.
LANDIS: But ultimately, if they come to the United States, they've got to make peace with Israel and align themselves with the pro-Israeli lobby in Washington.
AL-SHALCHI: That leaves Russia, the very country that bombed them. And Russia seems ready to cooperate.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
AL-SHALCHI: Putin recently told reporters that Russia is reflecting on its relations with Syria and that HTS was receptive. The naval base at Tartus is a vital strategic interest to the Russians - their only hold in the Mediterranean. HTS didn't respond to NPR's request for comment. The soldiers at the base stroll away from their guard posts to buy candy and soda at a nearby shop.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER #3: (Speaking Russian).
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)
AL-SHALCHI: The store sign is in Russian, like all the other shops in the village. And while the world waits to see how HTS will relate to its once sworn enemy, for now, the Russians are still propping up the economy in this small corner of Syria. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR 瓜神app, Latakia.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUPE FIASCO SONG, "OUTSIDE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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