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Reuters

Bloomberg

The Kremlin said on Monday, that President Vladimir Putin had made the decision to grant asylum in Russia to Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted as Syria’s president by a lightning rebel offensive.
Assad’s fall is a big blow to Iran and Russia, which had intervened in Syria’s 13-year civil war to try to shore up his rule despite Western demands that he leave power.
Russian news agencies cited an unidentified Kremlin source on Sunday as saying Assad was in Moscow with his family.
“Such decisions cannot be made without the head of state. This is his decision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters but gave no further details on Assad’s movements.
Assad’s departure removes a bastion from which Iran and Russia wielded power across the Middle East. Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, sided with the Soviet Union to try to achieve parity with US-backed Israel.
The Kremlin said Syria was subject to “extreme instability” and it was too early to speak about the future of Russian bases in the country.
“We are in dialogue with Ankara and other regional states, including on Syrian affairs,” Peskov said.
“Indeed, Syria is going to have a very difficult period now, due to instability. And, of course, it is very important to maintain a dialogue with all regional countries here. We are determined to do this.”


Russian bases
It is unclear how Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate that led the rebels’ advance, will view Russia’s military facilities in Syria – the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous on the coast.
“It’s premature to talk about it yet,” Peskov said. “This is all a subject for discussion with those who will be in power in Syria.”
“Of course, everything is being done now that is necessary and everything that is possible in order to get in touch with those who can deal with security. And, of course, our military is also taking all necessary precautions,” Peskov said.
The Tartous facility is Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, and Moscow has used Syria as a staging post to fly military contractors in and out of Africa.
Moscow will make every effort to retain its Syrian bases, though there’s no guarantee it will succeed, said two people close to the Kremlin, asking not to be identified discussing policy matters. It’s likely that Russian forces will have to withdraw from the bases, according to a third person.

With opposition groups now in control of the Middle East country, the Kremlin is scrambling to establish contacts with Syrian armed factions it had dismissed as “terrorists” and was targeting with air strikes just days ago. Their sudden takeover came more than nine years after Putin sent Russian forces to Syria in 2015 to bolster Assad’s regime and turn the tide against rebel forces.
Russia gained 49-year leases in 2017 to the naval base in the city of Tartous and the airfield at Khmeimim that supplies its African operations.
There’ll be “tough negotiations” ahead to safeguard Russia’s interests, said Elena Suponina, a Moscow-based Middle East expert.
Moscow has supported Syria since the early days of the Cold War, recognising its independence in 1944 as Damascus sought to throw off French colonial rule. The West saw Syria as a Soviet satellite.
“We see the situation around Ukraine, we see many contradictory statements in this regard, we see a growing conflict potential in other regions, we can say the burning Middle East,” Peskov said.


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Middle East

Putin grants Syria’s Assad asylum in Russia, Kremlin confirms, amid regional power shifts

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 24,. Photo: Pool/Sputnik

Naval personnel stand in front of the Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov in the Syrian city of Tartous on the Mediterranean Sea on January 8, 2012. Photo: SANA/Reuters

Fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad catches Middle East powers and the West off guard

An image of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, riddled with bullets, on the facade of a government office after the opposition’s takeover of Hama, Syria. Photo: AP

Syrian rebels celebrate in Homs, Syria following the takeover of Damascus on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad at the Kremlin on March 15, 2023 in Moscow. Photo: TNS

Israeli military vehicles cross into Syria near a Druze village in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Syria’s Assad in Moscow after deal on military bases: Russian state media

The Syrian presidential palace in Damascus after Islamist-led rebels took the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive. Photo: AFP

The Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov in the Syrian city of Tartous on the Mediterranean Sea in 2012. File photo: SANA via Reuters

A satellite image shows Russia-operated Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s Latakia province. Photo: Planet Labs via Reuters

Biden says Assad’s fall in Syria a ‘fundamental act of justice’, but ‘a moment of risk’

A Syrian opposition fighter sits inside an office at the Presidential Palace in Damascus. Photo: AP

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow in July. File photo: AFP

The Syrian presidential palace in Damascus after Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive. Photo: AFP

UK to decide ‘quickly’ on HTS terrorist status after role in ousting Assad: minister

A rebel fighter stands atop of a military vehicle as he carries a Hayat Tahrir al-Sham flag in northwestern Idlib province, Syria on December 1. Photo: Reuters

Britain’s Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, said the UK may reconsider HTS’s terrorist status after its role in ousting Assad. Photo: EPA-EFE

News

World

Russia & Central Asia

The Kremlin said Syria was subject to ‘extreme instability’ and it was too early to speak about the future of Russian bases in the country


The Kremlin said Syria was subject to ‘extreme instability’ and it was too early to speak about the future of Russian bases in the country.
