Two Russian navy ships are completing preparations to sail to Syria with a unit of marines on a mission to protect Russian citizens and the nation’s base there, a news report said Monday.

The deployment appears to reflect Moscow’s growing concern about Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s future.

The Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified Russian navy official as saying that the two amphibious landing vessels, Nikolai Filchenkov and Caesar Kunikov, will be heading shortly to the Syrian port of Tartus, but didn’t give a precise date.

The official said the ships will carry an unspecified number of marines to protect Russians in Syria and evacuate some equipment from Tartus if necessary.

Interfax said each of the ships is capable of carrying 150 marines and a dozen tanks.

It also quoted a deputy Russian air force chief as saying that Russia will give the necessary protection to its citizens in Syria.

“We must protect our citizens,” Maj.-Gen. Vladimir Gradusov was quoted by Interfax as saying. “We won’t abandon the Russians and evacuate them from the conflict zone if necessary.”

Asked whether the air force would provide air support for the navy squadron, Gradusov said they will act on orders.

Tartus is Russia’s only naval base outside the former Soviet Union, serving Russian navy ships on missions to the Mediterranean and hosting an unspecified number of military personnel.

Syria is Russia’s last remaining ally in the Middle East and it has shielded Assad’s regime from international sanctions over its violent crackdown on protests. Moscow also has continued to provide Syria with arms despite Western calls for a halt in supplies.