Russia has lost a naval base after Syria ended an investment contract with Moscow, asserting its authority over the Tartus port.

Vladimir Putin is still struggling to re-assert himself in the Middle East after the fall of his ally Bashar al-Assad’s regime, according to the UK. The Russian president helped to prop up the dictator’s regime in Syria since 2015 amid years of civil war,

Analysts say the return suggests that Moscow is preparing to evacuate one of its most valuable overseas bases.

MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a phone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The Tartus port is Russia’s sole naval base outside the former Soviet Union and has played a critical role in Moscow’s military presence in the Mediterranean, but according to Syrian opposition outlet Shaam, citing the Ministry of Information, the agreement was annulled, and the Russians must leave.

Iran and Russia signed a 20-year strategic partnership treaty. It outlines significant economic and military cooperation.

From Syria to Libya to Georgia, Putin's grip on his global empire is loosening. Thus far only Turkey and Israel benefit. Will the West rise to the occasion too?

Assad's regime, Russia lost a key all in the Middle East - but it still hopes to keeps its military bases in Syria.

The contract, signed in 2019, had committed Moscow to invest at least $500 million in modernizing the port. With the agreement now void, all revenues from the port's operations will go directly to the Syrian state,

Russia’s crucial diesel attack submarines can likely no longer operate in the Mediterranean Sea, after Moscow appears to have been kicked out of its naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian may discuss the situation in Syria, the Middle East, and Iran's nuclear programme on Friday, during Pezeshkian's visit to Russia, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

These horrifying images lay bare the torture regime operated by recently deposed Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The photographs chillingly show the inhumane conditions inside the ‘Air Force Intelligence Directorate’, one of the torture and interrogation centers that terrorized the people of Syria for decades.