2 gün önce

Syria's pre-Baath regime flag raised at Istanbul consulate, Moscow embassy

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirms that Assad and his family were given asylum by Russian President Vladimir Putin, but did not disclose his whereabouts.

AA

Syria's pre-Baath regime era flag hoisted over the country’s embassy in the Russian capital Moscow a day after the fall of the decades-old regime. / Photo: AA

Syria's pre-Baath regime flag was raised over the country’s consulate in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul and in the Russian capital Moscow, a day after the collapse of the decades-old regime in Damascus.

Consulate staff in Istanbul removed the flag used by the Bashar al Assad regime from the balcony on Monday and replaced it with the new flag, which was hoisted early in the morning.

Opposition groups of Syria are now using the pre-Baath era flag after the fall of the Assad regime.

Earlier, a source in the country’s diplomatic mission in Russia told the Russian state news agency Tass, that on Monday the (Syrian) embassy opened and operated as usual under the new flag.

The report comes a day after Tass said that the flag of the deposed Baath regime was removed from the embassy building, as well as the diplomatic mission's nameplate.

The new flag was also reportedly raised at Syria embassies in Belgrade and Tunisia.

The Syrian Embassy in Moscow told Tass that it is awaiting instructions from representatives of the country’s new leadership.

It also confirmed reports that the deposed Assad is in Moscow but denied that the embassy has had any contact with him.

Türkiye pledges support for Syria's new era, calls for focus on way forward

Assad family granted asylum

On Sunday, Tass reported that Assad and his family fled to Moscow where Russia granted them asylum, on the same day the country’s capital Damascus came under the control of opposition forces, ending the Assad regime.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later confirmed that Assad and his family were given asylum by Russian President Vladimir Putin, but did not disclose his whereabouts.

After a period of relative calm, clashes between Assad regime forces and opposition groups reignited on November 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

Over 10 days, opposition forces launched a lightning offensive, capturing key cities and then, on Sunday, the capital Damascus. The rapid advance, supported by defecting military units, led to the collapse of the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war.