Moscow’s staunch support of the Assad regime throughout the war is due to the existence of Russia's naval base and intelligence post in Tartus, north of Latakia, for almost 50 years, The Guardian newspaper reported.

A large convoy of Russian vehicles was reportedly on the move through central Syria on Wednesday, sparking new claims that renewed Russian support for the ailing Assad regime could lead to Moscow effectively running the war.

Syrian opposition groups claimed the convoy contained Russian troops who were heading for the outskirts of the country’s third city, Hama.

The armoured trucks and personnel carriers had moved south from Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast, where Russian forces have expanded the city’s airport runway and built additional hangars to house jets and transport planes that had begun arriving in early August.

The moves have come at a critical time for Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, whose forces have, since early 2013, increasingly ceded control to its regional allies, led by Iran and Hezbollah. While Russia has been a strong political ally of the Syrian regime, its military support had mostly been limited to selling weapons and sending advisers.

Russia’s increased activity comes amid a flurry of diplomatic moves surrounding the future of Syria and international efforts to tackle the Islamic State jihadist group, which controls much of the country’s east, as well as western Iraq.

The Russian intervention comes at an especially complicated time in Syria’s civil war. Battle lines between the regime and a largely homegrown opposition have remained mostly static around Damascus and Aleppo, but have been fluid elsewhere.

Source: MENA