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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrian authorities terminate agreement with Russia on management of Tartus port |
| 2025-01-22 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The contract for the expansion and modernization of the port of Tartus, concluded by the Syrian authorities with a Russian company in 2019, was cancelled by the new Syrian authorities. This was reported on January 21 by the Director of Tartus Customs, Riyad Judi, to the Syrian publication Al-Watan. "The agreement on investments in the port of Tartus signed with the Russian company has been cancelled. All revenues from the port's activities will be used for the benefit of the Syrian state. The port workers will return to restoring the worn-out equipment that the company used without upgrading it as stipulated in the agreement," Judy said. As the official explained, the new Syrian government is working on restructuring the port in order to restore its operations. Today, the port is practically paralyzed due to high fees and the cost of logistics services. The new Syrian authorities have decided to reduce customs duties on a number of categories of goods by 60%. The Syrian authorities signed an investment contract with Russia in 2019 for 49 years. It was assumed that the Russian side would allocate $500 million over four years to expand the port of Tartus, while receiving management of the seaport. Earlier, Regnum News Agency reported that the new Syrian authorities banned the import of goods from Russia, Iran and Israel. Goods imported into the republic in defiance of the ban will be confiscated. On December 8, Bashar al-Assad resigned as president and left Syria, ordering a peaceful transfer of power. He and his family arrived in Russia, where they were granted asylum. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov said on December 12 that Russia expects to maintain military bases in Syria because they play an important role in the fight against international terrorism. The diplomat said that Moscow has established contacts in Syria with the political committee of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (a terrorist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation). On December 29, the leader of the new Syrian government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said that Syria has strategic interests related to Russia. He emphasized that Damascus does not want Moscow to leave Syria to the detriment of relations between the two countries. In January, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya stated that after the change of power in Syria, Moscow intends to continue to provide Damascus with various types of assistance, including the supply of humanitarian aid. |
| Posted by:badanov |