‘Never sought refuge’: Syria's Bashar al-Assad in first statement since ouster

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his country has fallen to “terrorism” and said it can never be portrayed as a “liberation” for his country.

Ousted Syrian ex-president Bashar al-Assad in his first public statement since exile said he “never” intended to step down or “seek refuge” out of the country and was prepared to fight “terrorism”.

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is currently in exile in Russian capital Moscow. (File) (AFP)

Assad said Syria has “fallen into the hands of terrorism” and stressed that his bond with people “remains unshaken by any position or circumstance”.

The exiled Syrian president said his statement intended to clarify “a flood of misinformation and narratives”, which Assad described as an attempt to “recast international terrorism as a liberation” for the Syrian people.

He also said that a “total communication blackout” delayed the release of his statement and promised to provide a “detailed account of the events when the opportunity allows”.

Assad said he stayed in the capital Damascus till the early hours of 8 December to carry out his “duties” and claimed that his departure was “neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles”.

“As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Lattakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations. Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen.

As the field situation in the area continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under intensified attack by drone strikes. With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base's command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8th December,” reads Assad's statement as quoted by AP.

The Baath Party chief stressed that this took place after the fall of capital to Islamic rebels and only after the collapse of final military positions and “resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions”.

Recollecting his past, Assad stressed that he never compromised on the “salvation” of his nation despite “numerous offers and enticements”. He also said that he fought “terrorism” alongside his soldiers along the frontlines and remained with his people even “during the darkest years of the war”.

Assad said that he withstood repeated threats of “terrorist incursions” into Damascus for over fourteen years of war. “Furthermore, the person who has never abandoned the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, nor betrayed his allies who stood by him, cannot possibly be the same person who would forsake his own people or betray the army and nation to which he belongs,” the statement added.

The Syrian President said he “never sought positions for personal gain” and always believed in the ability of his people to “protect the state and defend its institutions, and uphold their choices to the very last moment”.

Assad said his “ability to make a meaningful contribution” was lost when the country fell into the “hands of terrorism” and his position became “void of purpose”.

“This does not, in any way, diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her people a bond that remains unshaken by any position or circumstance. It is a belonging filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent,” Assad said.