Israel has claimed that it has carried out airstrikes against “strategic weapons systems” inside Syria and that ground troop operations in Syrian territory were a “limited and temporary” measure, while the Kremlin claimed that it had been Vladimir’s personal decision. Putin granting asylum there to Bashar al Assad.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said: “The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens (…) that is why we attack strategic weapons systems, such as, for example, weapons chemical weapons that remain, or the long-range missiles and rockets, so that they do not fall into the hands of extremists.”
Previously, the Israeli military had published photographs of IDF troops operating in the Mount Hermon region, which is located northeast of the Golan Heights, a disputed territory that Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1981.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president had made the decision to grant asylum to Assad and his family, but there were no plans yet for the two to meet.
The Syrian embassy in the Russian capital was seen flying the three-star flag of the opposition to the fallen Assad regime.
Senior Iranian officials told Reuters that the country had opened direct communications with the leaders who overthrew Assad, saying that “a deal is key to stabilizing ties and avoiding further regional tensions.”
A senior British representative told The Guardian that the country could reconsider the terrorist status of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – the Levant Liberation Organization (HTS) – the Islamist insurgent group that led the takeover of Damascus. The British Government classified it as an offshoot of Al Qaeda in 2017.
Acting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said his country would soon send a special diplomatic representative to Damascus.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has, for his part, called for “accountability for the perpetrators of serious violations” within Syria under the regime of Bashar Al Assad, reports Reuters: “Any political transition must ensure accountability of perpetrators of serious violations and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. What needs to happen in Syria itself is to build a national legal system that allows for fair trials of all those who there are reasonable grounds to believe have committed atrocity crimes. And this also applies to the former president of Syria and those who held senior leadership positions.”
The future of Russian troops in Syria
The Kremlin said on Monday that it will negotiate the future of its military bases in Syria with the new authorities of the Arab country after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
“It is premature to talk about it. In any case, it will be the subject of discussion with those in power in Syria,” presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov said in his daily telephone press conference.
Peskov stressed that the situation in Syria is one of “extraordinary instability,” although he added that the Russian military has taken the necessary “precautionary measures.”
“We need time,” he said, adding that “there will be a serious conversation with those in power.”
As reported today by the Turkish news channel NTV, citing sources from the security forces, Russian troops in Syria will be evacuated with the help of Türkiye.
Moscow’s request would have been accepted by Ankara and Russian soldiers will be evacuated using military aircraft, he adds.
In recent days, Russian officials and bloggers have speculated about the future of the two Russian military bases in the Arab country, the airfield in Latakia and the naval base in the Mediterranean port of Tartus.
In this regard, the Kremlin highlighted on Sunday that “Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the Syrian armed opposition, whose leaders guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic legations on Syrian territory.”
In recent days, Ukrainian and Western media reported that Russian planes and ships – the Navy carried out maneuvers between December 1 and 3 in the Eastern Mediterranean – had left Syrian territory.
Since 2015, the Khmeimim airfield included dozens of fighters, fighter-bombers and assault helicopters, which also flew from airfields in Homs and Palmyra.
In addition, the Tartus naval base, the only one outside Russia’s borders and in which Moscow has invested huge amounts of money since 2012, hosted several warships, including frigates.
Both bases are considered strategic beachheads for Russian military operations in the Middle East and the Sahel countries.
Israeli offensive
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, assured this Monday that the presence of Israeli troops in the demilitarized zone in Syrian territory is “limited and temporary”, a necessary step for security reasons given the confusion that reigns in Syria after the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime.
“I emphasize that it is a very limited and temporary step, which we have had to take for security reasons,” said the head of Israeli diplomacy at a press conference.
Israel deployed its troops to the demilitarized area of the border, within the territory of Syria, on Sunday and ordered the local population of five municipalities, including Quneitra, the capital of the province, to stay home for safety while confronting the insurgents. .
Saar explained that Israel had to intervene because insurgent groups violated the troop withdrawal agreement it signed with Syria in 1974 from the so-called “buffer zone” and attacked units, observation posts near the border and represented “a threat to our communities.” in the Golan Heights and in the State of Israel.”
“That is why we attacked the regime’s strategic weapons systems, including chemical weapons and long-range missile depots, so that they would not fall into the hands of extremists,” the minister said of Israel’s military operations in Syria, which included strikes to military airports in Damascus.
The Israeli Army confirmed this Monday that it has taken the Syrian part of Mount Hermon, within the demilitarized zone, but Saar clarified that the troops have penetrated between a few meters and a maximum of two miles from the border, which Israel sets at the Heights of the Golan which it occupied in 1967 and annexed in 1981.
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