(Tribune News Service) — Syria’s new government pressed Russia for compensation during its first talks with a Kremlin delegation since the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

“The dialogue highlighted Russia’s role in rebuilding trust with the Syrian people through concrete measures such as compensation, reconstruction and recovery,” according to the Syrian readout on the talks in Damascus with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. “The new administration also stressed that restoring relations must address past mistakes.”

The statement didn’t explain what form of compensation Syria is seeking from Russia. Bogdanov called Tuesday’s talks constructive though “we understand how difficult the situation is,” the Interfax news service reported.

The Syrian statement made no reference to two key Russian military bases in Syria that the Kremlin is desperate to retain. Bogdanov told reporters there’d been no progress on the issue and that further negotiations were required, Russia’s Tass news service reported.

The military bases — a naval port at Tartus and an airfield at Hmeimim — have enabled Moscow to project influence in the Middle East and Africa. Their loss would be a significant strategic setback as Russian President Vladimir Putin remains locked in escalating confrontation with the U.S. and its European allies almost three years since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Tartus is the only Russian naval hub in the Mediterranean and Hmeimim is a key resupply base for the Kremlin’s activities in many parts of Africa. Negotiations with the new Syrian government on retaining them are stuck, with Russian activities at Hmeimim curtailed and two transport ships kept waiting for weeks before Syrian officials allowed them to dock at the port to remove military equipment, according to a person in Moscow with knowledge of the situation.

The Kremlin had earlier been optimistic it could persuade Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, the former al-Qaeda offshoot that last month forced Assad to flee Syria, to let it remain at the bases. Russia helped Assad to escape to Moscow as his regime crumbled.

Putin ordered his military to intervene in Syria in support of Assad in 2015, helping turn the war against rebel forces at that time. In 2017, Russia was awarded 49-year leases to the Tartus base and the Hmeimim airfield.

Turkey, which backed the rebels in ousting Assad and is a rival to Russia in Syria, opposes the continuation of Moscow’s military presence in the country. It’s highly doubtful the new Syrian authorities will let Russia stay at the bases after Russian warplanes targeted opposition forces during the country’s civil war, said two senior Turkish officials.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry declined to comment.

Turkey has offered to supply the Syrian armed forces with weapons and provide training. Much of the country’s military capability has been destroyed by Israeli attacks since Assad was overthrown.

The German and French foreign ministers visited Syria soon after the New Year as the European Union stepped up efforts to build ties with the new authorities and persuade them to curtail Russia’s influence.

E.U.foreign ministers reached a preliminary deal Monday on a roadmap to ease sanctions gradually on Syria, the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told reporters.

Some Group of Seven nations and allies have explored ways to enable Syria to find alternatives to imports of Russian oil and food, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. Ukraine sent Syria a shipment of wheat and promised more deliveries during a visit in December by the foreign and agricultural ministers.

With assistance from Selcan Hacaoglu.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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previous coverage

• Russian government delegation makes first official visit to Syria since Assad’s fall
• Russia’s hopes to keep Syria bases fade with talks stalled
• EU cautiously agrees roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria in wake of Assad’s downfall
• U.S. shared secret intelligence with Syria’s new leaders