Syria’s Assad would like more Russian bases and troops

Reuters:

MOSCOW, March 16 – Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said on Thursday that he would welcome any Russian proposals to set up new military bases and boost troop numbers in the Middle Eastern country, suggesting Russia’s military presence there should become permanent.

When Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, it helped tip the balance in Assad’s favour, ensuring the Syrian leader’s survival despite Western demands that he be toppled.

Assad, who met President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday, has supported Russia’s war in Ukraine and told Russia’s state news agency RIA that Damascus recognises the territories claimed by Russia in Ukraine.

Syria, Assad said, would welcome any Russian proposals to set up new military bases and boost Russian troop numbers – and said they need not be temporary.

“We think that expanding the Russian presence in Syria is a good thing,” Assad told RIA in an interview. “Russia’s military presence in any country should not be based on anything temporary.”