President Assad Chooses To Resign And Leave Syria, Instructs Peaceful Transfer Of Power

Bashar al-Assad. (Source: Vladimir Gerdo/TAS via Kremlin)

JAKARTA - President Bashar al-Assad has left office and left Syria, after giving orders for a peaceful transfer of power, Russian authorities said on Sunday, but did not say where he is now or whether the Russian military plans to remain in Syria.

Syrian rebels said they had ousted President Assad's government after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, ending his family's autocratic rule for decades after more than 13 years of civil war.

Assad flew from Damascus to an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior military officers told Reuters as quoted December 9, with his whereabouts currently unknown.

"As a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in armed conflict in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and leave the country, giving instructions for peaceful transfer of power," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Russia does not participate in these negotiations," the ministry said.

There have been unconfirmed media reports that Assad visited Moscow, where his eldest son studied, when rebels reached Aleppo late last month, before returning to Syria.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter at the time and it was unclear whether Russia had offered it protection now.

Moscow is known to be a loyal supporter of Assad who he helped in 2015 in his biggest attack on the Middle East since the collapse of the Soviets.

The Kremlin did not comment on the ongoing situation in Syria, saying its stance had been established in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Foreign Ministry said Moscow was concerned about what happened in Syria.

"We urge all parties involved to refrain from using force and resolve all government issues through political means," he said in a statement.

"In that case, the Russian Federation is in contact with all Syrian opposition groups."

It said it was also doing everything it could to ensure the safety of Russian nationals in Syria, which the embassy advised on Friday to leave the country.

The Russian Embassy in Damascus told state news agency TASS on Sunday its staff were "good".

The ministry also said two Russian military facilities in Syria had been alerted, but reduced direct risks to them.

"There is currently no serious threat to their security," the ministry said.

Russia is known to operate the Hmeim airbase in Latakia Province, Syria, which it once used to launch airstrikes against rebels in the past, and has naval facilities in Tartous on the coast.

The Tartous facility is Russia's only repair and refill center in the Mediterranean. Moscow has also used Syria as a stopover to fly its military contractors in and out of Africa.

Losing Tartous in particular would be a major blow to Russia's ability to project power in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Africa, Western military analysts said.

Russian war bloggers, some of whom are close to the Russian Ministry of Defense and gain more freedom from Russian authorities to speak than military officials, have warned the bases are now in dangerous condition, regardless of what Moscow has officially said.