After the jihadist organization led by the 'Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham' (HTS) occupied Syria, the ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad made his first statement. The 'Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham' has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.

The statement was posted on the Syrian presidential office's Telegram account on Monday, but it could not be independently verified whether it was made by Assad himself. Assad is currently in Moscow with his family, where they have received protection from the Russian government.

In the post, Assad stated that the collapse of Syria was caused by terrorism, and his departure was not planned. He said he was evacuated to Russia from the Khmeimim airbase on the Syrian coast. This occurred on the evening of December 8, and the text further described that the base was then under drone attack, with the security situation rapidly deteriorating. He expressed a desire to stay and fight.

The statement said: 'My departure from Syria was neither planned nor, as some claim, occurred in the last few hours of fighting. Instead, I remained in Damascus fulfilling my duties until the early morning of Sunday, December 8, 2024. Due to the lack of feasible ways to leave the base, Moscow requested that the base command arrange for an immediate evacuation to Russia on the night of Sunday, December 8. This happened the day after Damascus fell, when the last military stronghold had already collapsed, and all remaining state institutions had also paralyzed. During these events, I never considered stepping down or seeking asylum, nor did any individual or party suggest such a thing. The only course of action was to continue fighting against terrorist attacks.'

However, the statement did indicate that with the collapse of state institutions, his position as president of the country quickly became 'meaningless' because Syria had then fallen into the hands of 'terrorists.'

Assad added: 'When a country falls into the hands of terrorism and loses the ability to make meaningful contributions, any position becomes meaningless, rendering its occupation pointless.'

The exact whereabouts of Assad or the timeline of his escape remained unknown even days after his arrival in Moscow. Many of Assad's senior officials, including his brother Mahir, seem to have crossed the Iraqi border or fled to Dubai.

For instance, Assad's senior media advisor Bouthaina Shaaban was spotted at Dubai airport.

Western media currently claims that in recent years, Assad airlifted $250 million in cash from Syria to Russia. The media portrays this as Assad looting the country's central bank, but the airlift occurred years ago. The UK (Financial Times) stated that records it found showed that the Assad regime airlifted two tons of banknotes to Moscow between 2018 and 2019, depositing them in a Russian bank.

The newspaper reported that the Syrian central bank airlifted $250 million in cash to Russia, at a time when Assad owed Moscow a significant amount of debt, while the Middle Eastern country was severely lacking in foreign currency. This was likely done to circumvent Western sanctions, and Russia has long been the financial center for the Assad family.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported last week that 'a senior business leader and three other sources told Reuters that during the brief turmoil that swept the capital Damascus after Assad was overthrown, the Syrian central bank's vaults were not damaged by looters.'

Sources said that Syria retained nearly 26 tons of gold reserves in the central bank's vaults, along with about $200 million in dollar reserves. According to Reuters calculations, at current market prices, Syria's gold reserves are valued at $2.2 billion.

Bassel Hamawi, head of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, said: 'The most important point is that the amount of funds at the central bank remains unchanged, the central bank has not been violated, and the funds have been transferred to the new government, although other smaller cash vaults in the bank were stolen.'

Article reposted from: Jin Shi Data