Assad assures from Moscow that it was the Russians who improvised his escape when he visited their base

The ousted president of Syria, Bashar Asad,has published a statement explaining the circumstances of his escape to Russia. In a letter published on his Telegram channel, Assad confirms that he left Syria on December 8 from a Russian base in the province of Latakia and denies that his escape was something “planned” or that he had considered “resigning or seeking refuge.” ” before the offensive of the rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS).

Assad assures that he was transferred to Latakia “in coordination with Russian allies” with the aim of “supervising combat operations.” “Upon arrival at Hmeimin air base it was clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all front lines and that the last military positions had fallen,” he added.

“With the situation on the ground in the area continuing to deteriorate, the Russian military base came under intense drone attack. With no viable means to abandon the base, Moscow requested that the command coordinate an immediate evacuation on the afternoon of December 8,” explains Asad. “This took place one day after the fall of Damascus and after the collapse of the last military positions and the resulting paralysis of all state institutions,” said the ousted Syrian leader, an ally of Putin for decades. Assad insists that “at no time” did he consider resigning.”

He Russian Foreign Ministry reported a week ago, last Sunday the 8th, that Assad “decided to leave the presidential office and left the country, giving instructions to carry out the transfer of power peacefully.”

The deposed Syrian leader insists on presenting himself as someone who did not surrender. “During the darkest days of the war I did not leave, but remained with my family and with my people, facing terrorism under the bombings and threats of terrorist incursions in the capital during 14 years of war“, he has argued, while defending that “he never abandoned the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon nor betrayed the allies” who were with him. The letter indicates that it was written in Moscow on December 16, 2024.

Reuters previously reported, citing its own sources, that Assad did not notify anyone, not even his inner circle, of his plans to leave the country. On December 7 – the day before the rebels entered Damascus -, Assad met with military chiefs at the Ministry of Defense and assured them that Russian military aid would arrive soon.. But, according to agency sources, a few days earlier it was “made clear” to Assad that Russia would not provide any military assistance.

Assad, according to three Reuters interlocutors, He wanted to take refuge in the United Arab Emiratesbut the country’s authorities feared an international reaction and refused. Russia, despite rejecting military intervention, was not willing to assume the reputational cost of abandoning it. Furthermore, Assad’s children and wife were already in Moscow when he left Syria.

250 million dollars in cash

Assad’s letter completes the information that has been known about the Syrian leader’s exile. It was the Russian intelligence services that took out Assad using the Russian air base in Syria. The transponder on the plane carrying Assad was turned off to avoid detection. Moscow imposed a blackout of communications for security, and extended it until today to control the narrative.

Moscow and Damascus have forged an alliance that goes from the military to the personal level. Between 2018 and 2019, the Central Bank of Syria sent about $250 million in cash to Moscowwhen the then Syrian dictator was indebted to the Kremlin for its military support for the war in the country. Revealed this Monday Financial Timeswhich has had access to documents that show that, in those two years, the Syrian regime flew nearly two tons of 100-dollar and 500-euro bills to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport.

Money flows show how The Syrian regime became dependent on Russia because of the war. The millions were deposited in Russian banks that appeared on the lists of entities sanctioned by the European and American governments. The regime’s goal was to secure a “second life” for the elite in a safe place. That’s why the Asad family has embarked on a series of purchases of luxury properties in Moscow.

The bases remain

The change of political sign in Syria is a setback for Moscow. Looking to the future, the Kremlin is betting on taking advantage of the chaos and internal fighting among the Islamist rebels who overthrew the Syrian regime, and thus be able to maintain its weight in the country and, above all, preserve its bases. They can offer oil, but also investments, weapons and even intercede in the Security Council so that, for example, they are no longer considered terrorists. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has already proposed starting a procedure to remove the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from the Russian list of terrorist organizations.

In recent days, Russian authorities have evacuated at least 400 soldiers from the Damascus area, according to the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The Russian military met with representatives of these rebels at the group’s headquarters at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus to negotiate the safe passage of the convoy. The Russian military left Damascus and headed by land to the Khmeimim air base, from where the soldiers were sent by plane to Russia. He Financial Times obtained video footage showing a convoy of nearly 100 Russian-flagged vehicles leaving Damascus, including armored vehicles, tractors, fuel tankers and mobile medical units.

The number of Russian troops in Syria at the beginning of 2024 was estimated at 7,500 people. A change In total it would be a large logistical operation that, for the moment, has not been detected. Despite the movement of troops, Russia is not evacuating Khmeimim airbase is just transferring military personnel there from other bases. The same happens with the port of Tartus. Moscow has no plans to close its embassy in Damascus but it seems that diplomatic activity in Syria will be restricted.