On December 15, 2024, former Syrian President Bashar Al-Hassad spoke for the first time since his flight to Moscow in a press release.
The ousted Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, assured Monday that he had not premeditatedly fled Damascus, the day the capital was taken by rebels, saying that Moscow had requested his evacuation, in his first statement since his flight from Damascus.
“Not planned”
“My departure from Syria was not planned and also did not take place during the final hours of the battle, contrary to some allegations,” Bashar al-Assad said in a statement on the presidency's Telegram channel. “Moscow demanded (…) an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday December 8,” added Mr. Assad, affirming that Syria was now “in the hands of terrorists”.
After 24 years of dictatorship, Bashar al-Assad was overthrown on December 8 by the Syrian rebel coalition. If a bloodbath could be expected, the former president finally decided to flee and go into exile to his ally country, Russia. But this choice would have been influenced by Kremlin agents, indicates Bloomberg.
Orchestrated by Russia?
The Syrian president, now removed from office, was reportedly instructed not to defend his capital Damascus. “In exchange, we assured him asylum”relate 7 out of 7.
The more than tense situation would have forced the dictator to hastily leave the city aboard a private jet, which quickly cut off its geolocation to reach the Russian base of Hmeimim, on the Syrian coast. From there, Bashar al-Assad boarded a military plane which headed to Moscow.
The exfiltration operation would have been orchestrated by the master of the Kremlin himself. According to testimonies collected by Bloomberg, Vladimir Putin would therefore have “validated the operation and assured his counterpart that he would be safe”. That is to say, Bashar al-Assad would not be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as confirmed by Sergei Ryabkov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister.
