Putin helped Assad escape Syria via Russian airbase

Russian intelligence agents persuaded Bashar al-Assad to flee Syria for Moscow, having become convinced that he would lose against the insurgents rapidly advancing on Damascus, sources have said.

- ANGUS THOMPSON

Moscow offered Mr Assad a safe exit if he left the country immediately as the rebel forces led by former al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS) approached, leading to the toppling of 50 years of rule by the Assad family.

According to a report by Bloomberg, citing three people with knowledge of the situation, Russian agents flew Mr Assad out via a Russian airbase in Syria, with the aircraft’s transponder turned off to avoid being tracked. The new details follow confirmation by Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, that the Syrian dictator had been whisked out of the country “in the most secure way possible”.

“He is secured, and it shows that Russia acts as required in such an extraordinary situation,” he said during an interview with US television network NBC.