How vital is Syria's Tartus port to Russia?

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How vital is Syria's Tartus port to Russia?

Tartus is the main docking point for Russian shipments

Tartus Port

Mention is frequently made of Russia's Mediterranean naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus which, along with multi-billion-dollar arms sales to Damascus, runs the argument, is why Russia will never abandon the Assad government.

Not so, says a respected Moscow military think tank.

"Tartus is not a real naval base," says Ruslan Aliev, the head of information at the well-connected Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) in Moscow.

He told the BBC: "It is just a point on the map to replenish food and water and carry out some occasional repairs. There are a maximum of 50 Russian sailors and specialist technicians there.

"It is just a symbolic place after the collapse of the Soviet Union (in 1991), showing we still have somewhere to send our ships. From a strategic point of view [Tartus] is insignificant."

Video footage taken on a recent visit by Russian journalists shows a sleepy, half-deserted port with ageing Russian trucks, an officer's overgrown orchard and a few decrepit supply hangers.

"The Western media have got it all wrong in portraying Tartus and arms sales to Syria as a major reason why Russia is standing by the Assad regime," says Ruslan Aliev.

It is about nostalgia for former Soviet power, he insists.

"No-one in Russia really thinks Assad is a good or helpful guy," concludes Mr Aliev.

Read full article: BBC News - How vital is Syria's Tartus port to Russia?

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