DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Russian forces in Syria will give up control of two strategic bases on the Mediterranean coast, which will be used as joint Russia-Syrian training centers under a new agreement between the two countries, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. Throughout the conflict, the Hmeimem air base and the Tartus naval base were key Russian military outposts in the eastern Mediterranean. Under the new agreement between Damascus and Moscow, Syria will take control of the Hmeimem air base and the commercial berth at Tartus port as part of its civil administration. After Assad’s ouster Russian troops remaining in Syria gradually left the country except for those stationed at the bases. Al-Sharaa has visited President Vladimir Putin in Moscow twice since taking power, with the two Mediterranean bases being key points of discussion.