A four-vessel Russian convoy docked at the port of Tartous (a key Mediterranean harbour on Syria's western coast) on 7 September, marking the first resupply of Russian military facilities in Syria since a new bilateral agreement was signed in August. Under the memorandum of understanding reached after 18 months of negotiations, the Tartous port and the Hmeimim air base — long Moscow's only two military installations outside the former Soviet Union — will be converted into joint training and capacity-building centres, with Syria taking over civilian operations. The resupply signals Russia's determination to maintain its strategic foothold in the region following the 2024 fall of former president Bashar al-Assad, whose removal had sharply weakened Moscow's influence across the Middle East.