Iran and Russia share responsibility for crimes committed against the Syrian people, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday, the day after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. “They have also demonstrated that they are not reliable partners, by abandoning Assad when he was no longer useful to them,” Rutte further underlined.
The latter then claimed on X, later in the day, to have spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “about Syria”, without giving further details. Turkey is one of the main supporters of the Islamist groups that overthrew Bashar al-Assad.
The fall of President Bashar al-Assad is “a moment of joy, but also of uncertainty for the people of Syria and the region”, underlined the head of NATO in this press release, adding that the Atlantic Alliance “will closely monitor how rebel leaders behave during the political transition” in Syria. “They must support the rule of law, protect civilians and respect religious minorities,” he said.
