Bashar al-Assad speaks after leaving Syria: I never thought of resigning, the Russians evacuated me

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a lengthy statement from Moscow today, speaking about the critical situation in the country.
"My departure from Syria was not planned and did not occur during the final hours of the fighting, as some claim. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus and continued to carry out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024," the statement said. "As terrorist forces entered Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations. When I arrived at the Hmeimim air base that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last positions of the army had fallen. As the situation on the ground continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under heavy drone attacks."
Assad added that "with no possible means to leave the base, Moscow asked the base command to organize an immediate evacuation to Russia on Sunday evening, December 8." This happened a day after the fall of Damascus, as a result of the collapse of the last military positions and the complete paralysis of the remaining state institutions.
"At no point during these events have I considered resigning or seeking asylum. No individual or party has made such a proposal. The only possible action was to continue the fight against the terrorist attack," the statement concluded.