Chairman of the Duma international committee Leonid Slutsky said that the agreement concluded between Russia and Syria to expand the Russian naval maintenance facility in Tartus Port will be ratified by the Russian parliament “Duma” during the coming days.
He added that the preparations to ratify the treaty would start as soon as the necessary documents were submitted.
Moscow and Damascuss on Friday have concluded an agreement to expand the territory of the Russian Navy’s logistics facility in Syria’s Tartus port for 49 years.
The agreement allows up to eleven Russian warships, including nuclear-powered warships, to dock in the port at any one time, according to a document published on the official legal information portal on Friday.
"The current agreement will stay effective for 49 years and be automatically prolonged for 25-year periods, if neither party makes a twelve months’ notice in writing through diplomatic channels of its intention to terminate the agreement’s operation," the document says.
Russia will be also able to expand the territory of its naval facility and upgrade its infrastructure to conduct repair works, restock supplies and give crews time for rest.
The use of the naval facility will be free of charge. The archive of the logistics base, all official correspondence and all documents enjoy immunity regardless of their location.