Turkey says it has convinced Russia and Iran not to support Assad

Turkey says Ankara has convinced Russia and Iran not to support the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. If this agreement had not been reached, the recent events in Syria could have resulted in "a lot of bloodshed."

This was stated by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in an interview with NTV. According to him, Assad announced his resignation from the presidency as soon as he received a call from Moscow and Tehran.

Fidan noted that over the past two or three years, the Assad regime has been weakened. So when the opposition forces launched their rapid offensive, it was important for Ankara to prevent military intervention by Russia and Iran. To convince them not to do so, a Turkish delegation traveled to Doha, the capital of Qatar.

"When this operation started, the most important thing to do was that the Russians and Iranians should talk to them (the opposition forces – Ed.), not engage in military confrontation. Our meetings with the Russians and Iranians are the result of this week. Now they understand, I mean, the Iranian foreign minister came with us, then we met with both Russians and Iranians in Doha and discussed some issues," the Turkish Foreign Minister said.

According to him, Moscow and Tehran forced Assad to give up his powers: he allegedly did so "that evening" when he received calls from Russian and Iranian "partners."

"If they (Assad's troops – Ed.) had received support, they might have been able to win again thanks to the determination of their opponents. Of course, it would have taken a long time, and a lot of blood would have been shed. But the Russians and Iranians realized that it no longer made sense. We said it very clearly. In other words, the person they invested in is not a person worth investing in, and the conditions in the region are no longer the same," Fidan emphasized.

Turkey, he said, "told the Russians not to bomb civilian settlements, not to force people to emigrate." And Ankara's position, he is convinced, "paved the way for the opposition to win in a bloodless way," as Turkey held talks with Russia and Iran, which had an impact on Assad and could ensure "minimal loss of life."

As a reminder, the day before, the G7 leaders welcomed the fall of the Assad regime and agreed to respect the integrity of Syria.

Reuters reported that Assad's family did not know about his intentions to flee Syria. He did not tell even his younger brother Maher (who managed to leave Syria by helicopter) and his maternal cousins (Ihab Makhlouf, according to media reports, was shot dead by rebels, and Eyad was wounded).

In addition, according to the newspaper's sources, on December 7, a few hours before he fled to Moscow, Assad was at the Syrian Ministry of Defense for a meeting with about 30 army and security officials. There he assured them that Russian military support was on its way and urged the ground forces to hold on. Civilian personnel were also unaware of the events.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!