A senior Russian official confirmed a secret operation to smuggle Bashar al-Assad out of Syria as his regime crumbled, with the dictator reportedly persuaded to accept his reign was over as rebels closed in on Damascus.
Assad was flown to Russia “in the most secure way possible”, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told US network NBC. “He is secured, and it shows that Russia acts as required in such an extraordinary situation.”
The comments marked the first official confirmation of the deposed leader’s presence in Russia and the escape mission. “I have no idea what is going on with him right now,” said Ryabkov, adding that it “would be very wrong for me to elaborate on what happened and how it was resolved”.
Kremlin officials convinced Assad that the battle was lost and to save himself as the insurgents swept through regime strongholds, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing Russian sources.
The dictator was reportedly smuggled out through Russia’s airbase in Syria, in the coastal town of Latakia, with the aircraft transponder turned off to avoid being tracked.
Assad left with family members and assets worth $135bn (£106bn), former Syrian intelligence officer, Khalid Beyye, told Turkish newspaper Turkiye Gazetesi, which dubbed him “the richest refugee in the world”.
The escape was swiftly executed as the offensive led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant faction took control and targeted properties of the Assad clan. Militants posted images purportedly from the mansion of Maher al-Assad, brother of Bashar, including a massive underground tunnel complex that could have been used in his escape.
Rebels also ransacked the presidential palace in Damascus, discovering a vast collection of cars, as well as valuable jewellery and heirlooms, and candid Assad family photos.
The loss of an important ally is a blow to Russia, after enjoying more than 50 years of influence in Syria through close ties to the Assad dynasty. But the Kremlin would have established emergency plans, according to Anton Barbashin, editorial director of Russian political analysis journal Riddle.
“Surely Moscow had a plan to get him out written down long before this has happened,” he said, noting that president Vladimir Putin was “famously shocked” by the brutal killing of another Middle East ally, Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi, in 2011.
The Kremlin has also delivered a similar emergency evacuation for Ukraine’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych, who fled as an anti-Russia uprising in 2014 broke his grip on power.
The extent of Assad’s travelling party is not known. No verified photos of the Syrian leader in Russia have emerged since his departure. Barbashin believes past precedent suggests “immediate relatives” will also have been offered sanctuary.
The evacuation was a necessary move for Russia’s international reputation, he added, although the collapse of a Kremlin-backed regime is still damaging.
“Russia’s official narrative is that Russia has fulfilled the obligation [to] Assad and his family,” he said.
“It saves Russia from even more disgrace than would have been the case if Assad was brutally murdered. But hardly anyone is considering that Russia was able to save face.”
Liz Truss needs to take her own advice, and cease and desist