According to the correspondent for the channel in Ankara, the request suggests that Russian military personnel will relocate to areas in Syria under Turkish control and then return to Russian territory by air.
The channel emphasizes that Moscow still hopes to maintain military bases in Tartus and Khmeimim. The appeal to Turkey concerns army units located in other regions of the country.
The press secretary of the illegitimate president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, stated on December 9 to the propagandists of "RIA Novosti" that the Kremlin is trying to establish contact in Syria with forces that could assist in preserving the bases. At the same time, he noted that it is "premature" to discuss the continued presence of the aggressor state, Russia, in Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad's regime.
On December 8, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that Russian military forces are withdrawing their ships from the base in Tartus and transferring remaining weaponry by planes from Khmeimim. According to their information, the frigate "Admiral Grigorovich" of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the cargo ship "Engineer Trubin" of the Northern Fleet have departed from Tartus into the Mediterranean Sea.
"After the capture of Damascus, opposition forces to Assad are moving toward the coast – the potential loss of Russian military bases in Tartus and Khmeimim will finalize the Kremlin's defeat in the Middle East," the GUR MO noted.