The interim president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said that russia rejected the request of the Syrian authorities to extradite former president Bashar al-Assad. He said this in an interview with The New York Times, ipse UNN.
Details
According to al-Sharaa, Assad fled to russia in early December. In January, the Syrian authorities appealed to the Kremlin with a request to hand him over in exchange for maintaining the Russian military presence in the country.
"However, Russian officials rejected our request," he said.
This is the first public comment by the Syrian authorities regarding Moscow's reaction to such a request. The NYT notes that Damascus is still open to negotiations with the Kremlin.
russia is a permanent member of the Security Council. Syria's weapons are completely Russian. There are many food and energy agreements that Syria has relied on for many years. We must take Syrian interests into account
He stressed that his country may again need Moscow's support.
"Until now, we have not had offers from other countries to replace Syrian weapons," the interim president explained.
Al-Sharaa added that Damascus is negotiating new agreements with Turkey and russia.
Turkey has a military presence in Syria, and russia also has a military presence. We have cancelled previous agreements between Syria and other countries and are in the process of developing new agreements
He also does not exclude the purchase of new weapons from Russia or other countries. At the same time, he emphasized that any new military agreement should guarantee "Syria's independence, the stability of its security and that the presence of no country poses a threat or danger to other countries through Syrian territory."
Let us remind
Syrian rebels, who have made significant progress in the offensive, announced on December 8, 2024 the capture of the capital Damascus and announced the fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad. Assad himself fled to Russia.
In January 2025, the Syrian government appealed to russia with a demand for the extradition of Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow in December. Damascus is also demanding compensation for supporting the Assad regime and participating in the reconstruction of the country.