After the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the establishment of a new government, questions have arisen about how Russia, which spent years trying to keep the regime in power, cut its support for Assad and eventually abandoned him.

Axar.az reports that Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaybani spoke about the issue to Saudi Arabian media.

The foreign minister said that they met face-to-face with a Russian official at the Al-Bab air border crossing, and after this meeting, everything changed.

He added that the official told them, “Putin read the statement and approved it. We received the message and understood what it meant.”

“At that meeting, Syria was not in a victorious position. But we are the Syrian people and have chosen change. Russia’s alliance with the regime was a mistake, but mistakes can be corrected. This position can be reconsidered, and cooperation can be restored. But not with an untrustworthy regime, rather with a people. We conveyed this message to the Russian side,” Shaybani said.

Shaybani explained Russia’s withdrawal of support for Assad as follows:

“It was communicated to the Russians that they could continue their military presence in the country if they served the Syrian people. At the same time, we emphasized that toppling Bashar Assad does not mean Russia has to leave Syria. The key message was clear and unambiguous: ‘Do not tie your future to Bashar. He is temporary. There is a government you can build.’ After this, the Russians refused to support the Assad regime.”

The foreign minister also noted that the Russians asked when they could reach Damascus:

“I said 48 hours. After that, they began leaving Damascus. Who saw them? Bashar’s people. This led to their collapse.”