Russia is providing sanctuary to Bashar al-Assad by transferring the former Syrian leader to the country in the “safest possible way” after his regime’s rapid fall, Russia says. Deputy Foreign Minister told NBC News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
Sergei Ryabkov became the first Russian official to confirm Assad’s presence in the country, saying: “He is secured and this shows that Russia will act as necessary in such an extraordinary situation.” “There is,” he said.
“I have no idea what’s going on with him right now,” Ryabkov said, adding, “It would be very wrong for me to elaborate on what happened and how it was resolved.” There is,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hit hard by the collapse of his regime, which has helped Assad cling to power and maintain his family’s brutal dynasty that began in 1971 even after Syria entered the civil war. .
And Ryabkov is the leader of Syria, whose regime has been accused by human rights groups, whistleblowers and former detainees of chemical weapons and barrel bomb attacks, other war crimes, murder, systematic torture and forced disappearances. Russia will continue to support those involved. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the 2011 mass uprising that sparked the conflict.
Asked if the Kremlin would hand over Assad to trial, Ryabkov said, “Russia is not a party to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court.”
Syria is not a member of the tribunal, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and does not accept its jurisdiction. In 2014, Russia and China blocked an attempt to impose jurisdiction on the ICC. The United States and Israel also do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, which has no police to enforce warrants.
Separately, the court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 on charges of “war crimes” for overseeing the illegal abduction and deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
And last month, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. Israel rejected the charges and the United States said it rejected the decision.
Ryabkov said Assad was “condemned by the same group of countries and governments that continue to defeat attempts to live their own way, just as happened in Iraq, Libya and many other countries.” “It’s surprising, but it’s also very terrible,” he added. The United States has made it clear that it “determines its response and response” depending on who the court indicts.
Mr. Ryabkov is concerned about who will govern Syria, whether it is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the militant group that led the rebels in raids across Syria, or someone else. However, Russia said it “strongly and strongly” believes that Syria “should be sovereign.” , unified and integrated. ”
“I hope we don’t end up in a situation where parts of Syria separate from each other,” he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered the military to seize control of the demilitarized, UN-monitored buffer zone with Syria established under the 1974 ceasefire agreement, prompting Israel to say, “What is going on in the Golan Heights?” “We should seriously consider whether this is happening.” Ryabkov said Israel should abide by the agreement and “not violate” Syria’s territorial integrity.
One thing Russia shared with the United States was concern about the possible re-emergence of the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria, he said. The US has launched multiple airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria, where it maintains a small force.
Separately, Mr. Ryabkov is seeking a prisoner swap similar to the one in August that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and three other U.S. residents from Russian custody. , added that the Kremlin was “definitely ready to consider it.”
Such a deal would have required a “multi-tiered or multi-tiered approach on both sides,” potentially including pardons for people serving sentences. Several other countries, including Germany and Slovenia, also joined the agreement through TĂĽrkiye’s mediation.
“I don’t want to preempt anything,” Ryabkov said, but said such a deal would help improve relations between Russia and the United States, adding that a new deal “would be a healthy step forward, especially when the next government takes office.”
