Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara said Moscow has rejected his government’s plea to extradite ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad in exchange for continued Russian military presence in Syria.
Al-Shara, who led the group that overthrew the Moscow-backed Assad regime in December and now serves as the president of the country’s interim government, confirmed the longstanding speculation in his first-ever public acknowledgment of the conversation.
Al-Shara told the New York Times (NYT) that his government, a month after Assad’s ousting, proposed the extradition of the ousted dictator, who fled to Russia, in exchange for Russia’s continued military presence previously negotiated with the Assad regime, but Moscow said no.
“Mr. al-Assad fled to Russia in early December as his regime collapsed and in January, Syrian officials asked the Kremlin to hand him over as a condition for maintaining a military presence in Syria. But Russian officials denied that request, Mr. al-Shara said in his first public acknowledgment of the Russian response,” the NYT reported.
Before Assad’s ousting, Russia negotiated a permanent military presence in two bases: the Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia and the Tartus Naval Base, both located on the Mediterranean coast, with other smaller bases and outposts scattered across the country.
The bases were crucial for Russian military logistics in Africa as they were its only bases on the Mediterranean coast.
While Syria’s new government and Moscow confirmed that some discussions took place regarding the fate of the Russian bases at the time, Moscow has since withdrawn much of the troops and equipment from both bases.
That said, al-Shara told the NYT that he does not rule out future military cooperations with Moscow despite the latter’s support for the Assad regime – including new deals for Moscow to keep its military presence.
“We told all the parties that this military presence has to be in line with Syria’s legal framework,” he said.
Al-Shara also hinted that Russian weapons inherited from the Assad regime are the key reason for maintaining ties with Moscow.
“Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council. Syria’s weapons are entirely Russian. And there are many food and energy agreements that Syria has relied on for many years,” he said. “We must take these Syrian interests into consideration.”
“Until now, we have not had offers from other nations to replace Syrian arms.”