A senior Assad aide said a 'trick' by Putin contributed to

A former aide to Bashar Assad discussed the recent collapse of the Syrian government.
He pointed to a “trick” by Russia’s Vladimir Putin in an interview with Saudi media.
Russia was unwilling to come to Assad’s rescue as rebels advanced.

A former aide to Syria’s deposed President Bashar Assad described how he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin contributed to the country’s collapse.

Speaking to Al Arabiya, a news outlet owned by the government of Saudi Arabia, Kamel Saqr said Putin stalled on a high-stakes effort to broker military help to Assad’s forces.

That, he said, left them too weak to repel the rebels who ultimately overthrew Assad in December.

Assad had long relied on support from Russia and also from Iran to maintain power through Syria’s long civil war.

Per Saqr’s telling, both allies looked the other way as collapse loomed.

Assad was in Moscow as rebels seized control of Syria’s second-biggest city, Aleppo, on November 29.

Saqr said in the interview that, during the trip, Assad asked Putin to help transport weapons from Iran via a Russian-occupied base in Syria.

“Bashar al-Assad’s request to Putin was for him to personally handle the secure aerial transportation necessary to deliver military aid to support or stop the advance of the Syrian opposition,” Saqr said.

His description of behind-the-scenes events could not be verified by Business Insider.

According to Saqr, Putin agreed to the request for arms to be transported using Russia’s Hmeimim airbase in Syria.

“But what happened,” he said, “was that the Iranians told Bashar al-Assad, ‘we did not receive any signals to proceed with moving Iranian aircraft to the Hmeimim base [or to] fly through Iraqi airspace to land at the base.'”

“The question was relayed to Moscow, but no answer came.”

The Al Arabiya interviewer asked whether the failed maneuver was down to a “trick” by Putin, and replied that there was “no other explanation.”

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The Kremlin at the time would not confirm reports Assad was in Moscow as rebels advanced. Saqr told Al Arabiya that he started to believe something was off after the Kremlin refused to release a joint press statement after the leaders met.

Russia and Iran were Assad’s two chief international allies, but as rebels began driving back government forces in a lightning advance, neither stepped up to help.

Analysts say that Russia was too distracted by its invasion of Ukraine to offer significant support. Iran and its ally Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militia, were both badly weakened in their clashes with Israel.

As rebels advanced on the capital, Damascus, Russia flew Assad and his family out of the country, providing them refuge in Moscow.

Saqr, in the interview, said Assad had waited several hours on December 8 at Russia’s Hmeimim base for his flight out, ending the Assad family’s five decades in power.

“My information suggests that he stayed at the base for several hours until the plane was secured, prepared, and its takeoff and flight to Moscow were ensured,” Saqr said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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