(Reuters) – Russia and Syria will hold further talks over Russian military bases in Syria, Russia’s news agencies reported late on Tuesday, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov after his talks with Syrian officials.
“This issue requires additional negotiations,” TASS news agency cited Bogdanov as telling journalists. Bogdanov is heading Russia’s delegation to Damascus for the first time since Moscow’s ally President Bashar al-Assad was toppled.
He added that so far there have been no changes to the presence of Russian military bases in the country.
Russia, which granted Assad refuge and helped him militarily against rebel forces for years before his downfall, is hoping to retain its two bases in Syria, a naval facility in Tartous and the Hmeimim air base near the port city of Latakia.
Syria’s new ruling administration said on Wednesday that the two sides engaged in discussions on transitional justice mechanisms aimed at ensuring accountability and justice for the victims of the brutal war waged by Assad’s regime.
Syria “stressed that restoring relations must address past mistakes, respect the will of the Syrian people and serve their interests,” the administration added in a statement.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Leslie Adler and Gerry Doyle)
