Assad Says He ‘Did Not Plan to Leave Syria,’ Details Final Hours in First Alleged Statement Since Regime Fall

Doha – In what appears to be his first statement since the collapse of his regime, Bashar al-Assad has provided an account of his final hours in Damascus before his departure to Russia.

The statement, which was published Monday on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel and is attributed to Assad though its authenticity cannot be independently verified, details the last moments of his family’s 50-year rule.

“With terrorism expanding in Syria and reaching the capital Damascus on the evening of Saturday, December 7, 2024, questions began to arise about the president’s fate and whereabouts,” the purported statement reads.

“I did not leave the country in a planned manner as was rumored, nor did I leave during the final hours of the battles. I stayed in Damascus following my responsibilities until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024,” Syria’s deposed president asserted in the statement, contrary to reports of an earlier planned departure.

According to the statement, Assad was transported to Latakia’s Hmeimim airbase in coordination with Russian allies after opposition forces advanced into Damascus. Upon arrival at the base, he reportedly discovered that military forces had withdrawn from all battle lines and the army’s final positions had fallen.

The statement described an intensifying situation at the Russian military base itself, which came under drone attacks. “Given the impossibility of leaving the base in any direction, Moscow requested the base command to secure immediate evacuation to Russia on Sunday evening, December 8, the day after Damascus fell,” the statement continued.

Assad reportedly denied that asylum or resignation were ever discussed during these events, insisting that “the only option on the table was continuing to fight defensively against the attack.”

However, the statement later acknowledged that “with the state falling to terrorism and losing the ability to offer anything, the position becomes meaningless, and there is no meaning for an official to remain in it.”

In the lengthy statement, Assad defended his record, saying, “Someone who never abandoned non-Syrians from the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, and never betrayed his allies who stood with him, cannot be the same person who abandons his people to whom he belongs, or betrays them and his army.”

He added that he had “never been someone who sought positions on a personal level” but rather considered himself “the bearer of a national project that derived its support from people who believed in it.”

The statement attempted to defend Assad’s actions, claiming he had “stood with his army officers and soldiers on the front lines” throughout the war and “remained with his family and people facing terrorism under bombardment and the threat of terrorists storming the capital multiple times over fourteen years of war.”

This development follows recent revelations by the Financial Times, which reported that Assad’s regime had transferred approximately $250 million in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019.

According to the newspaper’s analysis of banking records, the funds, weighing about two tons in $100 and €500 notes, were delivered to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and deposited in sanctioned Russian banks.

The Syrian opposition launched “Operation Deterrence of Aggression” on November 27 from Idlib and Aleppo, advancing through Hama and Homs before entering Damascus in the early hours of Sunday, December 8, marking the end of the Assad regime’s rule.