Official: EU teases Syria with lifting of sanctions in exchange for removal of Russian bases

The European Union has reportedly urged Syria to eliminate all foreign military presence, including Russian military bases, as part of it's efforts to normalize relations with the bloc and lift sanctions.

This was revealed by an unnamed senior EU official, Caliber.Az reports citing Russian media. 

"We have conveyed to the new authorities in Syria that normalization should involve the removal of any foreign presence—military or otherwise," stated the EU representative.

Brussels has reportedly received a response from Damascus, indicating that Syria may be open to consider this matter in the future.

Syria’s transitional government leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, however, recently touched upon Syria's relations with Russia in an interview to the Al Arabiya publication. He talked about “strategic interests” with Moscow and said he did not want to see their relationship with the "second-most powerful country in the world" get undermined should Russian forces exit the country.

As Caliber.Az recalls, Russia currently operates two military facilities in Syria: the naval logistics center in Tartus and the Khmeimim airbase. The EU and the United States cut diplomatic ties with Damascus in 2011 after former leader Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on protesters during the so-called "Arab Spring" uprisings. The package of sanctions severely restricted Syria’s oil industry, trade as well as investments and froze Syrian central bank assets held abroad.

By Nazrin Sadigova