Former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad says the visit to Russia was not planned

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he had no intention of leaving the country after the fall of Damascus last week, but Russian forces expelled him after an attack on their base in western Syria.

This is Assad’s first comment since he was overthrown by terrorist groups. Assad said in a statement on his Facebook page that he left Damascus on the morning of December 8, hours after rebels attacked the capital. He said he left together with Russian allies and went to Russian territory in the coastal province of Latakia, where he planned to continue fighting.

Assad said that after the Russian base was attacked by drones, the Russians decided to take him to Russia on the night of December 8.

“I did not leave the country as part of the plan as previously reported,” said Assad.

A UK-based war monitor said the Israeli airstrikes early on Monday hit missile depots in Syria and called it the “most violent strikes” since 2012. Israel has been pounding what it says are military bases in Syria after the dramatic fall of Assad’s regime, and it has been decimated. air defenses and a large number of weapons of the former Syrian army.

Israeli forces also seized a border security post, sparking criticism, with critics accusing Israel of violating the 1974 accord and exploiting the chaos in Syria to seize land.

Obstacles to establishing Syrian relations

Meanwhile, European Union countries on Monday set conditions for the lifting of sanctions on Syria and first aid amid uncertainty about the intentions of its new leaders a week after taking power.

At a meeting in Brussels, top EU diplomats said they wanted assurances from members of Syria’s interim government that they are preparing for a peaceful political future that includes all minority groups, a place where extremists and former allies Russia and Iran have no place.

Since Assad’s ouster, there have been few reports of reprisals, reprisal killings or sectarian violence. Most looting or vandalism is quickly contained.

But the new leadership has not set a clear vision of how Syria will be governed. The interim government was formed by former opposition forces led by the Islamic terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which was affiliated with al-Qaeda and which the EU, US and Canada consider a terrorist organization.

The interim government will govern until March. Arab foreign ministers called for UN-supervised elections based on a new constitution. The UN ambassador in Syria is pushing for the lifting of sanctions.

To understand more, the EU is sending an envoy to Damascus to talk to those in power at least temporarily.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc wanted a “stable, peaceful and inclusive government,” but that it would likely take weeks, if not months, for a new path in Syria to be clear.

“Syria is facing a bright, bright, but uncertain future, and we have to make sure that this goes in the right direction,” he told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “For us, it’s not just words, but we want to see actions.”

Syria has been devastated by fifty years of rule by the Assad family. Its economy is in ruins, poverty is rampant, inflation and unemployment are high and corruption permeates everyday life. Millions of people have fled the country.

Hundreds of thousands of them live in Europe, and while some EU countries have suspended asylum applications for Syrian refugees, only those willing to return will be helped to return home, for now.

More than 100,000 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since 2015.

In 2011, the EU began imposing an asset embargo and travel ban on Syrian officials and organizations in response to Assad’s crackdown on protesters, which turned into a civil war. These sanctions were imposed on approximately 316 people and 86 organizations suspected of supporting Assad.