Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago, but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.
The comments are the first by Assad since he was ousted by terrorist groups. Assad said in a statement on his Facebook page that he left Damascus on the morning of December 8, hours after terrorists attacked the capital. He said he left in coordination with Russian friends to the Russian base in the coastal region of Latakia, where he planned to continue fighting.
Assad said that after the Russian base was attacked by drones, the Russians decided to transfer him on the night of December 8 to Russia.
“I did not leave the country as part of a plan as reported earlier,” Assad said.
A UK-based war monitor said Israeli airstrikes early Monday hit missile warehouses in Syria and were “the most violent strikes” since 2012. air defenses and most of the Syrian army's old arsenal.
Israeli troops have also seized a border buffer zone, drawing criticism, with critics accusing Israel of violating a 1974 ceasefire and possibly taking advantage of the unrest in Syria to seize land.
A week after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, one suburb of Damascus is still haunted by the brutality and terror unleashed by the Assad regime.
Barriers to establishing Syrian links
Meanwhile, European Union countries on Monday set conditions for lifting sanctions on Syria and initial aid amid uncertainty over the intentions of their new leaders just over a week after they seized power.
At a meeting in Brussels, top EU diplomats said they want commitments from members of Syria's interim government that they are preparing for a peaceful political future that includes all minority groups, one that does not role of terrorism and old friends Russia and Iran.
Since Assad's ouster, there have been few reports of reprisals, revenge killings or sectarian violence. Most of the looting or destruction was carried out quickly.
But the new leadership has yet to set out a clear vision of how Syria will be governed. The interim government was established by former opposition forces led by the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, a former al-Qaeda affiliate of the EU, US. and Canada considered a terrorist organization.
The interim government is to rule until March. Arab foreign ministers have called for UN-supervised elections based on a new constitution. The UN ambassador to Syria has pushed for sanctions to be lifted.
Front burner26:42The end of the Assad regime in Syria
To get more understanding, the EU is sending an ambassador to Damascus for talks with those in charge at least for a while.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc wants “a stable, peaceful and fully integrated government in place,” but that it may take weeks, if not months, for Syria's new path to be clear.
“Syria has a promising, hopeful but rather uncertain future, and we have to make sure that this goes in the right direction,” she told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “For us, no only the words are there, but we want to see the actions.”
Syria has been devastated by five decades of Assad family rule. Its economy has been destroyed, poverty is widespread, 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 although some EU countries have suspended asylum applications from Syrian refugees, only those willing to return will be helped to get home, to now.
More than 100,000 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since 2015.
In 2011, the EU began imposing asset freezes and travel bans on Syrian officials and organizations in response to Assad's crackdown on civilian protesters, which turned into a civil war. Sanctions have been imposed on approximately 316 individuals and 86 entities accused of supporting Assad.
