Russia has sent a flotilla of seven warships led by an anti-submarine destroyer to its naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, the state-run Interfax news agency reported citing Defense sources on Tuesday.
According to the report, an anti-submarine ship and three landing vessels set sail on Tuesday from the Arctic port of Severomorsk for the Mediterranean, while a second destroyer left Russia's base at Sevastopol in Ukraine. It added that more warships from the Baltic Fleet, based in St. Petersburg, would join the flotilla later.
Defense analysts believe that Russia's latest move is aimed at showing the West that Moscow intends to protect its interests in the region while signaling to the Syrian regime that the additional naval vessels would be used to evacuate Russian military personnel and equipment from its base if required.
Nevertheless, the report evoked only a muted response from Washington, with National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor saying: "Russia maintains a naval supply and maintenance base in the Syrian port of Tartus. We currently have no reason to believe this move is anything out of the ordinary."
The U.N. estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011. The Opposition claims the death toll to be much higher. Notably, the Assad regime still blames "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign mercenaries for the continued violence.
So far, the international stand on Syria has been divided, with China and Russia rejecting efforts by the Western nations and their Arab allies to punish the Syrian regime at the U.N. over its brutal repression in the restive Middle East nation.
China and Russia had vetoed a U.N. resolution endorsing an Arab League plan for Syria at the Security Council in February and as well as vetoed a Western resolution condemning the violence in October last. They remain opposed to any foreign military intervention for bringing a forced regime change, and insist on a political dialogue between President Assad and his opponents for resolving the crisis.
Russia continues to supply military equipment to the Assad regime despite calls by Western nations to impose a U.N. arms embargo on Syria. Russia fears that it could loose a stronghold in the Middle East region if Assad's regime is toppled.
U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on Monday held talks in Damascus with President Assad on the current situation in Syria. Annan said later that he held a "very candid and constructive" discussion with Assad.
"We agreed on an approach which I will share with the armed Opposition. I also stressed the importance of moving ahead with a political dialogue which the President accepts," the U.N. envoy said.
Annan added that Assad had reassured him "of the government's commitment to the six-point plan which, of course, we should move ahead to implement in a much better fashion than has been the situation so far."
Annan's plan calls for an end to violence that has gripped the Arab country, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.
Despite the international community's serious efforts to get Annan's peace plan implemented, most of the Syrian rebel groups say that they are no longer committed to the plan due to continued killings of civilians by Syrian security forces.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.