Syria has terminated its contract with the Russian firm that was responsible for managing the Tartus port.

The new leadership in Syria has terminated the contract with a Russian firm for the management of the Tartus port, which was signed during Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship.

Reuters reports this, citing three Syrian businessmen, including one who worked at the Tartus port.

The official Syrian newspaper Al-Watan quoted the words of the head of customs in Tartus, Riad Joudi, who stated that the investment contract was annulled after the Russian company "Stroytransgaz" (STG Stroytransgaz) failed to meet the terms of the 2019 agreement, which included investments in infrastructure.

The investment contract was established in 2019 for a duration of 49 years.

Under its terms, Moscow was granted the right to manage the port and was expected to invest over $500 million in its modernization.

Russia has been using the port for military purposes since the Soviet era.

STG Stroytransgaz is a major construction company, and the contract involved investment and the development of trade infrastructure for Syria's second-largest trading port after Latakia.

The contract is not related to the Russian naval base in Tartus, built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and part of a long-standing military agreement between Moscow and Damascus.

Both Russia and the new administration of Syria have stated that they are negotiating the future of the Russian military presence in Syria following the overthrow of Assad's regime.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has expressed its approval of Syria's decision to annul the agreement with Russia regarding Moscow's use of the maritime port in Tartus.

Background. Recall that during the economic forum in Davos WEF 2025, the Syrian Foreign Minister called for investment in Syria. He emphasized that the greatest challenge for Syria at present is the sanctions inherited from the Assad regime.