Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Assad has said he never considered resigning and denies "planned" departure from Syria, in his first reaction since being toppled by anti-regime forces last week.
"I did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported earlier," Assad said. The comments are the first by Assad since he was overthrown on Dec. 8 by anti-regime forces, who are now working to establish security and start a political transition.
Assad said that he left Damascus on the morning of Dec. 8, hours after anti-regime forces stormed the capital. He said he left in coordination with Russian allies to the Russian base in the coastal province of Latakia, where he planned to keep fighting.
"At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge nor was such proposal made by any individual or party," Assad said in the English text of his statement. "The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught."
But upon arriving at the Russian air base that morning "it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen."
The Russian military base came "under intensified attack by drone strikes" and "with no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base's command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia", the statement said.
The Kremlin said on Dec. 9 that President Vladimir Putin had made the decision to grant Assad asylum in Russia, which deployed its air force to Syria in 2015 to help him repel opposition forces.
Reuters reported last week that Assad confided in almost no one about his plans to flee Syria. Instead, aides, officials and even relatives were deceived or kept in the dark, more than a dozen people with knowledge of the events told Reuters.
