Russia denies having made a final decision on troop withdrawal from Syria

The Kremlin denied today that a final decision has been made on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria amid reports that Moscow has already withdrawn hundreds of soldiers deployed on the outskirts of Damascus.

"As of today, there is no final decision on this matter," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at his daily telephone briefing.

He added that Moscow, considered one of the biggest losers from the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, has established contacts with representatives of the forces that "now control the situation in the country and everything will be decided within the framework of this dialogue."

Representatives of the Levant Liberation Organization (Hayat Tahrir al Sham, HTS, in Arabic) confirmed to the Financial Times the withdrawal of at least 400 Russian soldiers from a base of the IV Division of the Syrian Army in the town of Qudsaya, on the outskirts of Damascus.

According to the daily, Moscow has also withdrawn the military personnel responsible for security at the Russian Embassy in the Syrian capital.

The new Syrian authorities have given the Russians assurances that the Russian convoy carrying these troops will be able to move safely to the Khmeimim airbase in Latakia province.

The source also stressed that negotiations are underway to evacuate Russian soldiers from other parts of the Arab country.

However, he denied that Moscow intends to close its two military bases in Syria, the Khmeimim base and the naval base in the port of Tartus, on the eastern Mediterranean coast.

In this regard, the Northern Fleet reported today that the frigate 'Almirante Gorshkov' crossed the Strait of Gibraltar after fulfilling its missions in the Mediterranean since last July.

The frigate took part in exercises off the Syrian coast in early December that included the use of hypersonic missiles.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday the withdrawal of part of its diplomatic staff from Damascus, a week after the overthrow of Al Assad.

To this end, an Air Force plane took off from Khmeimim (Latakia) and landed on Sunday at a military airfield outside Moscow.

“The work of the Russian Embassy in Damascus continues,” the statement said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said last week that Moscow had made contact with HTS representatives at the Four Seasons hotel.

"These contacts are taking place in a constructive atmosphere and we hope that the representatives who have responsibility for the situation in the city will fulfil all their obligations," he said, referring to the need to prevent "any excess" in Damascus.

As for the Russian military bases in Syria, the diplomat said that “they remain where they are, on Syrian territory.”

Moscow, which granted asylum to Assad and his family on December 8, has maintained an extremely cautious stance since his ouster and has refrained from labelling the groups that participated in the fall of the regime as terrorists, with the aim of reaching an agreement with the new authorities on the future of its bases.

Since then, Assad has not made any public appearances and Russian President Vladimir Putin has refrained from commenting on the situation in the Arab country. EFE