Assad reappears in Moscow and talks about escaping from Syria

Syria’s deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad, reappeared in Moscow this Monday (16) and made his first statement nine days after leaving Damascus for exile in Russia.

Assad said he had not considered resigning or seeking asylum in another country until the insurgents seized power in the Arab country.

“During recent events, I did not even once think about the possibility of resigning or asking for asylum in another country, nor did I receive any proposal in that regard”, claimed the Syrian dictator, who said he learned of the fall of Damascus at the Russian military base to where he fled on December 8, in a statement published by his press office on Telegram.

According to the document, Assad fled to Russia, leaving the Hmeimim air base, in the coastal city of Latakia, Syria, on the night of the 8th, after the site suffered drone attacks, which he classified as “terrorist”.

Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which had been in power for 24 years, was defeated on the 8th, after a surprising advance by rebels from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group in the capital Damascus. The dictator hurriedly fled Syria, with help from Russia, on a plane.

According to Assad, his first statement took place nine days after his escape due to “security reasons” and difficulty in releasing statements.

“After several unsuccessful attempts to publicize the statement through Arab and international media outlets, the only viable option was to publish it on the former administration’s social media accounts,” says a message accompanying the statement on Telegram.