Russia is chasing a deal to keep its military bases in Syria

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Days before the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Russia said the Syrian rebels advancing on Damascus were terrorists. Now, with those rebels in power, Moscow senses an opportunity to both expand its economic footprint in Syria and hold on to its military bases there.

It is a surprising rapprochement. Russian leader Vladimir Putin was instrumental in preserving the Assad regime through a decadelong civil war. The bases Russia built along Syria’s coast enabled it to project power into the Mediterranean and Africa as well as hammering rebel targets, including positions held by Syria’s new rulers, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

After Assad fled the country, he sought refuge in Moscow. But with the U.S.’s Middle East allies unsure of where the Trump administration stands on Syria, they are stalling on emergency funding for the new government. That is providing an unexpected opportunity for Russia to not only maintain its presence but boost it.

In one of the first concrete signs of warming ties between the two sides, Russia last month delivered the equivalent of $23 million in Syrian currency at official rates to the central bank in Damascus. Moscow printed the banknotes for Syria’s cash-starved economy when most other countries had refused due to fear of sanctions, Syrian and European officials said. The cash injection came as Qatar and Saudi Arabia held off in providing the millions of dollars in budgetary assistance they had discussed providing to the new regime, these people said.

They said those countries are awaiting clarity from Washington over whether U.S. sanctions against the former jihadists now in charge will be lifted. The Syrian and Saudi governments couldn’t immediately comment.