Russia's Endgame in Syria

Russia's Endgame in Syria

The Interfax news agency reported Tuesday that a Russian naval squadron, including an antisubmarine ship and three marine-landing craft, left Severomorsk in the Arctic for the Mediterranean. Several more ships will join it en route. Together, they will pay a call to Tartus, Syria, Russia’s only naval facility outside of the old Soviet Union. Russian officials have denied the port visit has anything to do with the ongoing internal conflict in Syria. But Moscow has become increasingly pessimistic that the Assad regime can survive. In June, Russian military officials were reported to be entertaining the possibility that it will be necessary to send the “naval infantry,” as marines are known in Russian, to Syria to protect infrastructure and evacuate approximately thirty thousand Russian citizens.

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