New Delhi: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that fugitive Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was given asylum in Russia as he fled a lightning advance by opposition forces, saying the decision was made personally by President Vladimir Putin. “Of course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state. It is his [Putin’s] decision,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Monday. However, he declined to comment on al-Assad’s specific whereabouts and said Putin was not planning to meet with him.
Al-Assad was allegedly evacuated by a Russian plane from the Russian airbase in Latakia.” It remains to be seen how the decision to grant the former leader asylum would affect Russia and its assets in Syria. The Kremlin said it was premature to say what the future would hold for Russia’s military bases in Syria. “This is all a subject for discussion with those who will be in power in Syria,” Peskov said. The Tartous facility is Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, and Moscow has used Syria as a staging post to fly its military contractors in and out of countries in Africa.
The lightning advance of an opposition alliance spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, surprised the world on Sunday and Russia was no exception. HTS is still designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations and most countries, but has spent years trying to soften its image and distance itself from its al-Qaeda roots to reassure foreign states and minority groups within Syria.
Moscow was in contact with Ankara and other regional players on the situation in Syria and that Russia was ready for dialogue with all countries of the region in the face of the instability that lies ahead. Russia, Turkiye and Iran have regularly held talks on Syria’s future in a trilateral format as part of what is known as the Astana peace process.
