Kommersant reports Syria plans to convert Russia’s Khmeimim air base into military training and humanitarian hub

Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, plans to convert Russia’s Khmeimim air base into a training and humanitarian hub, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing a Syrian source familiar with the situation.

The base would come under “joint management” by Russia and Syria but serve “only non-military purposes,” the source said. Syrian authorities want to use the facility to train their forces — drawn largely from radical armed groups — which, the source said, lack conventional military skills.

Kommersant also reported, citing the Lebanese newspaper Al-Modon, that Damascus would like to bring in Russian instructors for the training programs.

Russia currently controls Khmeimim air base in Latakia province and a naval logistics facility in Tartus. The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government — Moscow’s ally — and his flight to Russia called into question the Kremlin’s cooperation with Syria’s new authorities. In October 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa traveled to Moscow to meet with the Russian president and said that Syria’s new leadership would honor all previously signed agreements with Russia.

In an interview with the Al Arabiya television channel, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Syria’s current authorities see Russia’s presence as “a stabilizer — a role that balances the influence of other players.” “As for our military facilities: we are discussing them now. The Syrians, I will say again, are interested in our presence continuing. These are no longer purely military functions, as they were before December 2025, but the facilities are quite suitable for repurposing as humanitarian hubs,” Lavrov said.