* Russia is negotiating the fate of its naval base in Syria

* One berth to be used for a commercial logistics hub

* Moscow wants to keep naval presence at the second berth

* Project is key to efforts to retain influence in Syria

* US also competes for contracts, wary of Russian influence

By Feras Dalatey

DUBAI, July 9 (Reuters) - Russia hopes by mid-July to have a

commercial logistics hub up and running in one of two berths at

the naval base it leases in the Syrian port of Tartous, while

keeping a military presence at the other, Syrian officials told

Reuters.

The hub will handle a wide range of Russian goods including

wheat and grains, and target initial cargo volumes of around

250,000 tons per month, one of the officials said.

The project, the officials said, is central to Russian efforts

to maintain and expand its influence in Syria through economic

channels, after the overthrow of former President Bashar

al-Assad in 2024 deprived Moscow of its staunchest ally in the

Middle East.

But much more than business is at stake, with a battle for

influence under way as Washington seeks ways to ensure not only

that Syria awards contracts to U.S. companies but also curbs

Moscow's military presence.

Syria's General Authority for Ports and Customs did not

respond to a request for comment before publication of this

article. After publication, Mazen Alloush, the authority's

spokesman, denied Russia would operate a commercial logistics

hub at the port, describing such reports as "entirely false".

Any projects or agreements concerning Syria's ports and border

crossings would be announced only through official government

channels, he said.

OLD ALLY, NEW REALITY

Moscow has backed Syria for decades and intervened

​militarily in 2015 ⁠to support Assad in a 14-year civil war.

His fall raised questions about the future of the lease

agreement under which Russia has its naval base at Tartous on

the Mediterranean coast and the fate of its military base at

Hmeimim, southeast of the city of Latakia.

Since Assad was overthrown, Damascus has sought closer ties with

Western and Gulf countries, while cooperating with Moscow in

areas including energy and food imports and military ties.

Moscow and Syria are now negotiating over the future of

Russia's bases at Tartous and Hmeimim.

In 2025, Syria's new government cancelled a 49-year contract

granting Russian company Stroytransgaz the right to develop

commercial facilities at Tartous. The United Arab Emirates' DP

World secured an $800 million, 30-year concession agreement to

redevelop and operate the port.

But on June 6, the Russian-Syrian Business Council, a body

operating under Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade,

announced plans to establish an "assembly and distribution

centre for Russian goods" at Tartous.

Officials interviewed by Reuters, and company statements and

documents reviewed by Reuters, provided more details of the

plans, including when it is intended to become operational, its

precise location and how much cargo it will handle.

The project is being developed by Syrian logistics company

Rus Line in cooperation with Russian companies grouped under the

Russian-Syrian Business Council.

Project organisers say they have agreed with Syria's

Sovereign Fund on joint management of the logistics centre,

providing a direct link to the state's main investment vehicle.

Ossama Ajaj, general manager of Rus Line and adviser to the

Russian-Syrian Business Council, said the hub will initially

handle Russian wheat, grains, animal feed, vegetable oils,

timber, steel, clinker, coal, rice, sugar and mineral oils.

Jinan Mubadda, Rus Line's chief executive, said the hub will

operate from Pier No. 4 at Tartous port, in what Ajaj called a

"restricted zone" of the naval base. The other berth remains

dedicated to Russian naval operations.

'TURNING POINT'

Russia's government also did not comment for this article. But

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in June that

Moscow and Damascus were discussing a possible "reformatting" of

Russia's military facilities in Syria and that cooperation

between the two countries was developing actively.

Ajaj told Reuters cargo volumes of about 250,000 tons per

month were being targeted initially and operations were expected

to begin in mid-July with a 30,000-ton grain shipment.

He suggested Russia would maintain a "reduced military

presence".

Two officials from Syria's foreign ministry said the project was

outlined at a January 28 meeting in Moscow between Syrian

President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The officials called the meeting a turning point in efforts to

revive economic cooperation.

Ajaj said the two leaders agreed to reactivate trade between the

two countries. He also said a framework agreement would

establish a regular shipping line between Russian and Syrian

ports for raw materials and other Russian goods bound for Syria

and other countries.

The project aims to establish a regular maritime route

between Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and Tartous,

from where goods will be distributed across Syria and

neighbouring countries.

Ajaj identified Iraq and Jordan as the primary target

markets, followed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

A May concept document prepared by the Russian-Syrian

Business Council said the project envisages the use of Syrian

private security companies to protect cargoes where necessary.

It ruled out the involvement of Russian security firms.

US WATCHES CLOSELY

The commercial logistics hub is set to increase Moscow's

already significant economic role in Syria. Some 85% of Syria's

imported wheat - 2.9 million tons for the 2025-26 season - comes

from Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea, a Syrian customs

document showed.

Reuters has also reported that Syria's reliance on Russian

crude oil imports has increased since Assad's fall. It received

about 16.8 million barrels of Russian oil in 2025 and an

estimated 60,000 barrels per day in the first months of 2026.

Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, recommended

increasing support and investment for economic actors capable of

strengthening Russian leverage in Syria, said an intelligence

source briefed on a confidential GRU report to the Russian

presidential administration in December 2025.

The report identified Louay Youssef, head of the

Russian-Syrian Business Council, as a figure Moscow could rely

on in pursuing that strategy, the source said.

Youssef has held various senior positions in Russian-Syrian

organisations and was an adviser on Syrian affairs to Yunus-Bek

Yevkurov, a deputy defence minister, according to two associates

of Youssef.

Youssef, who has announced that he is now an adviser to

the defence and security committee of Russia's Federation

Council, or upper house, did not respond to requests for

comment.

The project could help Russia maintain influence regardless

of the eventual shape of its military presence, said Nanar

Hawach, a senior Syria adviser at International Crisis Group.

"Russia's hold on Syria rests on what it supplies and

maintains, and on its (United Nations) Security Council vote,

which gives it influence that outlasts any drawdown of troops,"

he said.

"A logistics role reinforces that by keeping Russia

physically present at the port, strengthening its hand while the

future of the base is being decided."

The U.S. is meanwhile watching closely.

Congressman Joe Wilson last month secured an amendment to

the Pentagon budget directing it to assess options for reducing

Russia's influence in Syria and securing the departure of its

forces from Tartous and Hmeimim.

"We closely monitor Russian-backed commercial and logistics

projects in Syria and are concerned that such initiatives may

not contribute to stability in the country," a U.S. State

Department official said in response to Reuters questions.

The official said the U.S. was encouraging Syria to engage

"trusted corporate partners - especially U.S. firms" during the

country's recovery and reconstruction after its civil war, while

urging Damascus to respect U.S. sanctions on Russia.

(Editing by Maya Gebeily, Timothy Heritage, Philippa Fletcher)