Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview in Damascus Tuesday, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria'snational news agency SANA via Reuters. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

DAMASCUS, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited on Tuesday the Hmeimim airbase in Syria's northern city of Latakia, reviewing the latest military gears in that Russian-run base, stat news agency SANA said.

Assad's visit to Hmeimim is his first declared tour in the Russian-run base, which has been run by the Russian forces since 2015, when they intervened to aid the Syrian government forces in face of the foreign-backed insurgency.

The report said Assad toured the base and reviewed the modern military gears, including warplanes and armored carriers.

Touring the site with Russian commanders at the base, Assad also checked the latest Su 35 warplane in the base.

Photos of the president during his tour were also made available and posted by the presidential media office.

It's the latest in some high-profile visits Assad has recently made, starting with a special prayers for the Eid al-Fitr occasion in the central city of Homs, his first visit to the city since the beginning of the Syrian war six years ago.

He also visited wounded soldiers in Hama, along with his wife and three children.

But the visit to the Hmeimim base, comes at a time when the White House warned there are "potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack" by the Syrian government forces and warned Assad that he would face a "heavy price" if one is carried out.

The U.S. warplanes have also struck the Syrian army several times over the past two months, when it was advancing toward Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State (IS) group, and the Iraqi borders.

Russia repeatedly slammed the U.S. strikes amid reports that it equipped the Syrian army with high-tech military gears to defend itself against further attacks.

The president's visit to the base apparently aims to showcase confidence and the strong alliance with Russia in the face of the U.S. threats.