Bashar al-Assad decided to step down, leave Syria, says Russia

ISTANBUL

Bashar al-Assad, the deposed leader of Syria’s toppled Baath regime, decided to step down and leave Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Expressing concern over the situation in Syria, the ministry said Assad's departure emerged as an outcome of negotiations held between his regime and forces taking part in the armed conflict, also claiming that Assad gave instructions for a peaceful transfer of power.

It also called on all relevant parties to abandon resorting to violence and instead resolve all issues through political means.

The ministry added that Russia is interacting with all opposition forces in Syria, calling for respecting the views of all ethnic and religious forces in Syria, and supporting efforts to establish an inclusive political process under UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

Russian military bases in Syria are "on high alert," it said, adding that there are no serious threats to their security.

The statement added that all necessary measures are being taken to ensure the safety of Russian citizens in Syria.

Road to collapse of Assad regime

After a period of relative calm, clashes broke out between Assad regime forces and anti-regime armed groups on Nov. 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

On Nov. 30, anti-regime groups took control of most of the center of Aleppo from regime forces, and on the same day, they gained control over the entire Idlib province. Last Thursday, after fierce clashes, the groups took the city center of Hama from regime forces.

Anti-regime groups captured some settlements in the strategically important province of Homs, a gateway to the capital Damascus, and started to advance there.

On Friday, armed opposition groups launched an operation in the Daraa province on Syria's border with Jordan and recaptured the city center from the regime forces after clashes.

On Saturday, the entire province of Suwayda in southern Syria also came under the control of opposition groups. On the same day, local opposition groups in Quneitra also took control of the provincial center.

In the province of Homs, which leads to the capital, anti-regime forces on Saturday took control of the provincial center.

Groups advancing against Assad regime forces entered the southern suburbs of Damascus later on Saturday. Regime forces also withdrew from the Defense and Interior ministries and the international airport in Damascus.

As anti-regime armed groups started to dominate the capital, the Assad regime on Sunday morning quickly lost all control of Damascus.

Separately, in Operation Dawn of Freedom launched on Dec. 1 by the opposition Syrian National Army against the terrorist group PKK/YPG in rural areas of Aleppo, the Tel Rifaat district center was liberated from terrorism.