Reuters reported on Sunday evening that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia and have been granted asylum by the Russian authorities on humanitarian grounds, according to several Russian-language news agencies, who in turn cited a Kremlin source.
The Interfax news agency quoted the unnamed source as saying: “President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds.”
In a dispatch from Moscow, Reuters also reported that a deal has been struck to ensure the safety of Russian military bases in the war-ravaged country. Russia and its leader, President Vladimir Putin, were staunch allies of Assad and his regime over the 13 years of civil war in the Mideast country. Russian fielded military assets in Syria, especially air force units, while numerous reports cited on-the-ground action by Russian-controlled forces.
Russia’s foreign ministry said earlier that Assad had left Syria and given orders for a peaceful transfer of power, after rebel fighters raced into Damascus unopposed on Sunday, ending nearly six decades of hereditary rule by the Assad family.
The news agency cited the same source as saying that Moscow sought a political solution to the warfare in Syria. The source said negotiations should be resumed under the auspices of the United Nations.
Syrians living in Greece gather in Syntagma square after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, in Athens, Greece, December 8, 2024. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi
