Deposed President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow
after fleeing a rebel takeover in Syria, TASS, the Russian state media,
reports.
Assad arrived with his family after Russia granted them
asylum, TASS said, citing a source Kremlin source.
On November 27, armed opposition forces in Syria initiated a
large-scale offensive against the government troops.
On Saturday, the rebels announced they had taken control of
several major cities, and on Sunday morning, they advanced into Damascus,
prompting government forces to withdraw.
TASS said Assad “resigned” following intra-Syrian
negotiations and fled the country.
Analysts believe the collapse of Assad’s regime will likely
alter the balance of power in the region.
Iran and Russia, key allies of Assad, are understood to face
diminished influence as they failed to intervene effectively as they did during
earlier phases of the conflict.
US President-elect Donald Trump said Assad fell because both
countries abandoned him.
“His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir
Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer,” Trump said earlier.
“Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one
because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its
fighting success.”
Citing the Kremlin source, TASS reported that Russian
officials are engaging with the Syrian rebels.
“Russia has always spoken in favor of a political settlement
of the Syrian crisis. We insist that the UN-mediated talks be resumed,” the
news agency quoted the source to have said.
“Russian officials are in touch with representatives of
armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the security of Russian
military bases and diplomatic missions on the Syrian territory.”
Antonio Guterres, United Nations (UN) secretary general,
said the organisation will work with the Syrian people to determine the
country’s future.
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