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The former president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad has stated that he does not intend to leave the country for Russia – as a statement that is thought to be his first statement since the fall of his government, shows.
Assad’s message was posted on the Syrian President’s Telegram channel on Monday, although it is unclear who is running the Telegram channel – and whether the message is from the former president or not.
The statement said that when the rebels were trying to take control of the capital, Assad went to a Russian military base in Latakia province “to see how things are going”, but he found that the Syrian forces had escaped from the operation.
The statement added that at this time “the drone attack intensified” on the military base in Hmeimim, from where Russia decided to take him on a flight to Moscow.
In the statement – which was published in English and Arabic – the former president of Syria explained the events that happened on December 8 – when his government was seized – and how he was attacked in the Russian military base.
“Since there is no way out of the camp, Russia has requested that the commanders in the camp prepare immediately to evacuate everyone to Moscow on the evening of Sunday, December 8,” the statement said.
“This happened one day after the capture of Damascus, after the capture of all other military institutions and government agencies.”
The statement added that “despite the things that have happened, I have not thought of stepping down from power or going to seek asylum, and no one has offered me that”.
“When a country falls into the hands of terrorism, there is no opportunity to make a useful contribution, at that time everything is useless,” the statement said.
No one heard Bashar al-Assad’s hard work after the rebels of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized the cities and provinces of Syria within 12 days.
On December 9, Russian media reported that Assad had been granted asylum in the country – although there was no official statement to confirm this.
Now the Syrian rebels are continuing the negotiations to form a government.
