Russia Affirms Syria Must Determine Its Own Future

JAKARTA - Russia insists Syria must determine its own future, calling for an upcoming government to be inclusive by considering all ethnicity and religion in the country.

Syrian insurgent groups have launched attacks on various regions of the country since late November, with the peak of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led group taking control of the capital Damascus and the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, ending five decades of his family's rule.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Moscow was observing the situation in Syria with more than a week of Russian-backed and consolidated President Assad's long-standing fall under Ahmed al-Sharaa alias Mohammad al-Jolani.

"We believe the path to normalizing the continuing situation in Syria lies in the creation of an inclusive dialogue among Syrian citizens based on the achievement of a national agreement and moving forward with a complicated political settlement process," the ministry said.

"For Russia, it is important that Syria's future is determined by its own Syrian citizens. We believe that friendly relations and mutual respect between people in our country for decades will continue to develop constructively," the statement continued.

It said Muslims had lived side by side in Syria for centuries with Christians, including the Greek Orthodox Patriarchic fire and the entire East centered in Damascus, which has close ties to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Earlier, the Kremlin said on Monday no final decision had yet been taken regarding the future of Russia's military bases in Syria, while they were in contact with those responsible for the country.

Separately, four Syrian officials told Reuters on weekends Russia withdrew its military from the front lines in northern Syria and from posts in the Alawite Mountains but did not leave its two main bases.

Meanwhile, Assad, who is granted asylum in Russia, issued his first statement since being ousted from power, saying he was evacuated from Hmeim base on December 8 when the base was attacked by a drone, after leaving Damascus that morning as rebel fighters approached.