Russia’s deputy foreign minister tells NBC News Russia transported Assad in “the safest way”
(Reuters) – Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with NBC News that aired on Tuesday that Russia has kept Bashar al-Assad in custody very safely. Assad) was transferred to Russia.
The Kremlin said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin had decided to offer Assad asylum in Russia. His fall is a heavy blow to Iran and Russia, which have intervened in Syria’s 13-year civil war to try to consolidate his rule despite calls from the West for his ouster.
“He is safe, which shows that Russia acted as required in this particular case,” Ryabkov told NBC, according to a transcript on NBC’s website. He added that he would not elaborate on what “happened” What and how to solve it”.
News you can trust and daily fun, right in your inbox
Experience it firsthand — The Yodel is your go-to source for daily news, entertainment and light-hearted stories.
Asked whether Russia would hand over Assad to face trial, Ryabkov said: “Russia is not a party to the Convention establishing the International Criminal Court.”
Moscow has supported Syria since the early days of the Cold War and recognized Damascus’ independence in 1944 as it sought freedom from French colonial rule. The West viewed Syria as a Soviet satellite state.
Syria’s new interim leader announced on Tuesday that he would take over the country as caretaker prime minister with the support of the former rebels who ousted Assad.
Separately, Ryabkov said Russia was “definitely prepared to consider” another prisoner exchange, similar to the one in August involving Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. exchange.
Ryabkov told NBC the new deal would be “a healthy step forward, especially at the beginning of the next government,” adding that he did not want to “preempt the situation.”
(Reporting by Lydia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates)
