Russia's ties to the Assad household date again to the Nineteen Seventies
When the Syrian rebels now managed to achieve and enter Damascus, Bashar Al-Assad left on a Syrian Air aircraft, beneath excessive secrecy, sure for Moscow, the place he obtained political asylum by order of the Russian president.
In keeping with Bloomberg, the ousted Syrian chief wanted some persuasion from Russia to go away the nation, with Russian intelligence brokers having begun orchestrating his escape to Moscow.
His restricted choices
Assad's journey choices have been fairly restricted. Given his position on the world stage, his two main allies, Russia and Iran, have been the plain locations to supply him refuge after the collapse of the regime.
By selecting Moscow, observers say, Assad selected a well-recognized place that aligns along with his wasteful habits, whereas additionally selecting a rustic with relative geopolitical stability.
“Bashar and his household are avowedly secular, despite the fact that they determine with the Alawite sect, so Russia has all the time had extra enchantment than Iran in that regard,” mentioned David Lesch, a Syria skilled at Trinity College in Texas. , who has met with Assad a number of instances.
“In Assad's thoughts, Russia and Vladimir Putin can finest shield his household from extradition or every other try by the worldwide group to convey him to justice,” Lesch mentioned.
In a secret mansion with a fortune of two billion
In keeping with the Guardian, Assad and his household are anticipated to maintain a really low public profile in Moscow. They’ll doubtless be hidden away in a secluded villa, shielded from public view.
To keep up his maintain on Russia, Assad will doubtless have the ability to faucet into among the $2 billion believed to be stashed world wide in offshore accounts and shell corporations.
Moscow, for its half, will stay silent about its new visitor. Russian state media have but to publish any pictures of Assad contained in the nation, a transparent signal that Moscow is eager to maintain him out of the headlines because it builds ties with the younger males who lead Syria.
“I feel Bashar will maintain a really low profile, perhaps for the remainder of his life. I don't see him in any respect making any form of political comeback in Syria or wherever else,” Lesch mentioned.
The Assad household's roots with Russia
Russia's ties to the Assad household date again to the Nineteen Seventies, when Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, dominated the nation. In 2015, the connection between the 2 nations obtained a brand new enhance after Putin intervened within the Syrian civil struggle.
Within the years that adopted, Assad's kids, together with different offspring of the Syrian elite, spent their holidays at summer time camps in Russian-held Crimea. Assad's eldest son, Hafez, was despatched to review on the prestigious MGIMO College in Russia.
In the meantime, shut cousins and different kinfolk slowly purchased tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} price of actual property in Moscow's well-known skyscraper district.
“Chilly” his relationship with Putin
Regardless of Syria's rising dependence on Moscow, the non-public relationship between Assad and Putin has all the time remained frosty. Though the Russian president has cast real friendships with some world leaders, notably Silvio Berlusconi, whom he hosted in Crimea, he has been extra cautious of Assad.
By all accounts, the 2 leaders remained cautious of one another over time, with Moscow usually pissed off by what it noticed as Assad's refusal to make even the smallest concessions on reforming his nation or cooperating with the opposition teams.
Supply: cnn.gr
