Assad, family arrives in Moscow, granted asylum by Russia - Report
Agencies
09/12/2024
File photo shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Bashar al-Assad as they both visit Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria's Latakia province on Dec. 11, 2017. – Reuters Image
MOSCOW: Deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family arrived here after being granted political asylum by the Russian government, Russian media TASS reported, citing sources in the Kremlin.
"Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow. For humanitarian reasons, they have been granted asylum by Russia," a Kremlin source said, according to TASS
Earlier, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Assad had left Syria and assured a peaceful transition of power after rebel fighters captured Damascus unchallenged on Sunday, ending his family's nearly six-decade iron-fisted rule. Kremlin sources also said that Russia chose a political solution to the crisis in Syria, where Moscow supported Assad during the long civil war.
At the same time, the source said negotiations should resume under the auspices of the United Nations (UN).
Syrian opposition leaders also expressed agreement to guarantee the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions in Syria, the source told the news agency.
Moscow, a staunch supporter of Assad who intervened to help him in 2015 in the biggest offensive in West Asia since the fall of the Soviet Union, is scrambling to save its position.
Its geopolitical influence in the wider region and two strategically important military bases in Syria are on its priority list.
The agreement to secure Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria's Latakia region and its naval facilities in Tartous on the coast will provide relief to Moscow.
The Tartous facility is the only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub in Russia and Moscow has used Syria as a hub to fly its troops in and out of Africa.
The loss of Tartous would be a serious blow to Russia's ability to project power in West Asia, the Mediterranean and Africa, Western military analysts say. - Agency
