Moscow has asked Ankara for help in the safe withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime, CNN Türk reported on December 9, citing its own sources.
According to the outlet’s correspondent in Ankara, the request would have Russian troops sent to areas under Turkish control and then airlifted to Russia.
The channel also reported that Russia intends to maintain its bases in Tartus and Khmeimim and has asked for Turkey’s assistance in withdrawing troops from other parts of the region.
The Russian military contingent is said to be withdrawn from all parts of Syria, except for the strategic Hmeimim air base and the Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean coast.
The Russian soldiers will first be transported to the areas controlled by the Turkish army, and then they will return to Russia, Telegraph reports.
This follows an earlier report by the Russian news agency TASS on the same day that Bashar al-Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and received asylum “on humanitarian grounds”.
Clashes between forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and armed opposition groups began on November 27 in rural areas of Aleppo province in northern Syria.
The offensive developed rapidly, with the rebels taking town after town. On the morning of December 8, opposition forces entered Damascus without a fight.
Bashar al-Assad has ruled the country for 24 years, succeeding his father Hafez al-Assad, who seized power in a military coup in 1970.
A revolution began in Syria in 2011, which escalated into a civil war involving the opposition, radical Islamists and the Assad regime, which was supported by Russian troops.
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