Supporters of the Syrian opposition wave the country’s opposition flag during celebrations of the rebel takeover of Damascus, in Place de la Republique, Paris, France, on Sunday. Photo by Mohammed Badra/EPA-EFE
Dec. 8 (UPI) — World leaders, including in the volatile Middle East, reacted after Syrians rebels seized control, toppling the long rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Generally the leaders expressed non-interference and a peaceful transfer of power.
U.S. President Joe Biden make public remarks after meeting with his national security team Sunday morning.
“At long last the Assad regime has fallen,” Biden said at the White House. “This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country.”
President-elect Donald Trump took to social media on Sunday morning about the overthrow.
“Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever. Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success.”
On Saturday, he said the United States” should have nothing to do” with conflicts involving Syria.
Russia had limited reaction the the change of power. “As a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement obtained by The Guardian. “Russia did not participate in these negotiations.”
Assad and his family arrived in Moscow after being granted asylum in Russia, according to Russian state media TASS, citing a source in the Kremlin.
TASS also reported Russia wants negotiations on Syria’s future to take place under the aegis of the United Nations.
The United Nations will work with the Syrians on determining the country’s future, Secretary General Antonio Guterres said
“The future of Syria is a matter for the Syrians to determine, and my Special Envoy [for Syria Geir Pedersen] will be working with them towards that end,” he said in a statement. “There is much work to be done to ensure an orderly political transition to renewed institutions. I reiterate my call for calm and avoiding violence at this sensitive time,