Kamel Saqar, former head of the media office at the Syrian presidency, stated that Russia ignored Bashar al-Assad’s request to use the Hmeimim airbase for transferring Iranian military aid to the Syrian army following the fall of Aleppo.
In an interview with the Al-Mazij podcast, Kamel Saqar revealed that Iranian officials informed Assad they had not received any guarantees allowing Iranian aircraft to land at Hmeimim Airbase or to transit through Iraqi and Syrian airspace.
According to Kamel Saqar, after this, Assad formally requested permission from Russian authorities to allow Iranian planes to land at Hmeimim, but the request went unanswered.
Neither Russian nor Iranian officials have directly addressed this matter. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday, December 19, 2024: “Previously, our Iranian friends wanted us to help them transfer their units into Syria. Now, they are asking us to remove them from there.”
He further claimed that Russia had withdrawn 4,000 Iranian regime fighters from Syria.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated on December 11, 2024, that Iranian forces had prepared the necessary resources to assist Bashar al-Assad but that the U.S. and Israel had blocked both air and land routes to Syria.
Meanwhile, Kamel Saqar reported that Iranian officials informed Assad that the U.S. had threatened to shoot down any Iranian aircraft attempting to cross Iraqi airspace en route to Hmeimim Airbase.
Kamel Saqar also claimed that Russia had urged Assad to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but Assad refused, which reportedly displeased Moscow.
Russia Removed Assad from Syria, Moscow Forms New Ties with Damascus
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, stated that Tehran had repeatedly advised Bashar al-Assad to engage in negotiations with Turkey and had also proposed political reforms to Damascus.
Turkey, which had supported Assad’s opposition, was the first regional country to send its foreign minister to Damascus.
On December 16, Bashar al-Assad stated that he had not been willing to leave Syria, but the Russians had forced him out of the country.
Reuters reported that just hours before fleeing to Moscow, Assad had held a meeting with around 30 military and security commanders, assuring them that Russian military support was on its way.
Russian officials have expressed optimism about maintaining good relations with the new rulers in Damascus and keeping their military bases in Syria.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, December 26, 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Ahmad Al-Sharaa, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, had described relations between Syria and Russia as “long-term and strategic,” and Moscow agreed with this assessment.
However, during her visit to Damascus on Friday, January 3, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that Russia must withdraw its military bases from Syria.
