Russia will improve its counterterrorism capabilities by modernizing and upgrading its military facilities in the Syrian port city of Tartus, General Gamal Mazlum told RIA Novosti, adding that Moscow will also help other countries in the Middle East and North Africa tackle radical groups.

"The deal to build a base will increase Russia's counterterrorism capabilities," the defense analyst said.

This move will also have a ripple effect across the region.

"Russia's presence [in Syria] will clearly help Arab nations in their fight against extremist groups," General Mazlum noted. This is particularly significant taking into account the fact that "their ties with Washington have become weaker," he added, pointing to Egypt as a case in point.

Mazlum described relations between Egypt and the United States as a strategic partnership in the year when Hosni Mubarak was president. Both countries have gravitated away from each other following the Arab Spring uprising, the subsequent political turmoil and the election of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the current president of Egypt.

In addition, the Obama administration has advocated a less active engagement in the Middle East, particularly when it comes to deploying the US military. US president-elect Donald Trump has also indicated that he will pursue a less assertive foreign policy. As a result, America's relations with some of its partners in the Middle East have become less pronounced.

If Moscow inks the deal on the naval base in Tartus with Damascus, Russia will be able to increase its presence in the eastern Mediterranean, General Mazlum noted.

"There was almost no Russian military presence [in the Middle East and North Africa], including Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Libya and Algeria, after the collapse of the Soviet Union even though Russia has continued to cooperate with these countries as the USSR's legal successor state," he added.

© Sputnik / Grigoriy Sisoev Russia's Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser makes port call in Tartus, Syria

Washington will apparently not be happy with these developments. Policymakers in the United States will view Russia's presence as "unwelcome," as the defense analyst put it.

"Although the scale is different, this could be the beginning of Russia's greater involvement in the region. Quite recently Russia was only present in the Black Sea. Now the country has spread its influence to the eastern Mediterranean," the general said. "I think that Russia will not leave all this space to the United States."

The Russian Defense Ministry has maintained a small naval maintenance and support facility in Tartus since 1977. In October, Russian defense officials said that they planned to build a full-scale base in the Syrian port city.

The documents with regard to the base are reported to have been ready. They are currently undergoing intergovernmental finalization and approval.

On Monday, Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, told RIA Novosti that the base could be upgraded in up to two years.

"I believe that during this period the facility could be transformed into a fully-scale naval base capable of providing the full spectrum of maintenance and repair services for combat and auxiliary ships," the Russian senator explained.