“First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday 8th December 2024,” a statement posted on the Telegram channel of the Syrian presidency quoted Assad as saying on Monday, Russian and Arab media reported on Monday.
The authenticity of the statement, the first since Assad left Damascus for Moscow last Sunday, could not be independently verified.
“When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose,” the statement added.
Armed militants, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), overthrew the Assad government on December 8 following a lightening offensive that was launched in their stronghold in the northwest and reached the capital in 12 days.
“As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations. Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen,” the statement said, quoting Assad.
As the security situation began to deteriorate and the Russian military base in Latakia came under attack, Assad said Moscow directed the base’s command to arrange “an immediate evacuation to Russia".
Russian media reported that President Vladimir Putin had personally granted Assad asylum in Moscow.
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