Bashar al-Assad tried to protect Russian military bases before fleeing Syria

Before fleeing the country, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered his troops to protect Russian military bases from opposition formations. This was reported by the Free Syria News Network (FSNN) in its Telegram channel on December 13.

"Several Assad officers, including Suheil al-Hassan and a number of officers of the Fifth [Army] Corps, were to defend the Russian base in Hmeimim," the report stated.

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Earlier in the day, Il-76 transport planes arrived at the Russian Hmeimim airbase located in Syria's Latakia province. There was no additional information about the arrival of the Russian planes.

On December 9, Syrian Consul to Russia Zager Al-Ahmar told Izvestia that there is no danger to Russian military bases in Syria. Al-Ahmar added that Syria is now a new state, but contacts between the two countries will not be abandoned.

At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was premature to discuss the possibility of further presence of Russian servicemen in Syria now. The Russian side is in contact with Turkey and other regional states on the situation in Syria, he specified. According to the Kremlin spokesman, Moscow will continue dialog on the situation and its analysis in the Arab Republic.