Russia reacts to Germany’s call to remove Syrian bases

Maria Zakharova urged Annalena Baerbock to address the US presence in her own country after the latter called for a Russian withdrawal from Syria

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has criticized German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for her demand that Russia withdraw its military bases from Syria.

Zakharova, speaking on her Telegram channel on Friday, has urged Baerbock to instead address the presence of US military bases in Germany.

“This is being said by the foreign minister of a country that hosts US military bases. I have a question: when will the German foreign minister say something similar to Washington?” Zakharova wrote in response to Baerbock’s statement.

Baerbock’s remarks followed her visit to Damascus on Friday, where she and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot became the first EU ministers to visit Syria since President Bashar Assad was overthrown.

Baerbock’s visit was aimed at preventing the country from coming under Russian and Chinese influence, the German publication Tagesschau wrote on Friday.

The situation in Syria shifted dramatically in November when militant groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists, launched a sudden offensive against government forces. The attack led to the rapid collapse of Assad’s government, forcing him to flee to Moscow.

Russia had been a supporter of Assad’s government, helping Syria to fight terrorism since 2015. In 2017, Moscow and Damascus signed a deal for a 49-year lease by the Russian military of the Tartus naval base and the Khmeimim airbase in the east of the country.

Late in December, the head of HTS and the country’s de facto leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, best known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, said Damascus had “strategic interests” in maintaining good ties with Russia, describing it as the “second most powerful country in the world.”

Read more

“We don’t want Russia to exit Syria in a way that would not be befitting for its long-standing relations with the nation,” al-Julani said.

Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia echoed this sentiment on Friday, stating that Syria’s new de facto authorities have shown an interest in preserving ties with Moscow and its military presence in the region.

During his end-of-year press conference in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin the issue of maintaining a Russian military presence in Syria requires “careful consideration.” “We must reflect on how our relations will evolve with the political forces currently in control and those that will govern this country in the future,” Putin said.