Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has resigned as president and fled the country.
This is stated in a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reported by TUT NOVOSTI .
Statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the situation in Syria
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, following negotiations with a number of participants in the conflict in Syria, Assad resigned as president and left the country, ordering a peaceful transfer of power.
Russia did not participate in the negotiations, but is currently in contact with all Syrian opposition groups.
Moscow calls on all parties to renounce violence, resolve governance issues through political means, and respect the opinions of all ethno-confessional forces in Syria.
The Russian Federation supports efforts to establish an inclusive political process based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and expects that the UN and all stakeholders will take these approaches into account, including in the context of implementing the initiative of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Syria Geir Pedersen to urgently hold inclusive intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva.
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that all necessary measures are being taken to ensure the safety of Russians in Syria.
Russian military bases in the SAR are on high alert. There is currently no serious threat to their security.
What happened in Syria
Last Wednesday, November 27, Assad's opponents launched a large-scale offensive against Syrian army positions in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.
By the evening of December 7, the militants captured a number of large cities - Hama, Homs, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Daraa, and entered Damascus this morning. The Syrian army left the city.
The head of the government of the republic, Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, declared readiness for a peaceful transfer of power. Reuters reported that Assad could have died in a plane crash.
