World leaders react to the fall of Bashar al-Assad
Last Updated on December 10, 2024 6:42 am
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been in power since the end of the Syrian civil war, has fled his country by plane after being attacked by rebels. Russian state media reported that the ousted Syrian president, who fled Damascus, is now in Moscow.
Russia was a key ally of the Assad regime. It is believed that Assad and his family will find political asylum there.
On the other hand, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Assad regime itself was responsible for their fall. He said, “The lack of an acceptable political process in the country and its reliance on support from Russia and Iran made its fall inevitable.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said that a barbaric state had fallen. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the Syrian people had suffered terribly and the end of the Assad regime was great news.
However, Arab countries in the Gulf region had been rebuilding relations with the Assad regime in recent years. Now, the prospect of a future for Syria under Islamist leadership seems to have made them a little nervous.
Qatar’s foreign minister has expressed “deep concern” over the current developments and called for the preservation of Syria’s unity. On the other hand, Turkey is hosting about three million Syrian refugees. The country’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said they can now return to their country.
Meanwhile, Russia has called for a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria.
US President Joe Biden has described the moment of Assad’s fall as a historic opportunity. He said that neither Russia, Iran nor Hezbollah could save his government. He said that the US would work with “all groups in Syria” in the context of Assad’s departure.
On the other hand, Iran has lost direct ground contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah with the fall of Assad. The country has said that the Syrian people must determine their future “without any destructive intervention or imposition from outside”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told local media that Iran had not received any calls for intervention as the rebels advanced on Damascus. “We were not asked for help,” he said. “This is primarily the responsibility of the Syrian army. We did not consider it our responsibility.”
US President-elect Donald Trump said that the fall of Assad’s government meant that President Putin should now agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine quickly.
There is also a US military presence in eastern Syria. A senior Pentagon official said they would continue to fight the Islamic State group.
Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomat for the United Arab Emirates, expressed hope that all Syrian factions would now work together. In addition, UN envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen stressed the need for a stable transfer of power.