Regime change underway in Syria after Assad departure

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stepped down from his post and decided to leave the country, foreign officials reported Sunday. The move followed negotiations with various factions involved in the Syrian civil war, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, officials from Syria's neighbor Turkey on Saturday recognized changes in the country, saying it had a new political reality. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday also recognized the transition in Syria, saying it hoped all parties could reach a political settlement providing long-term stability.

Where is Assad now? The Russian state-run news agency TASS reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally granted an asylum request by Assad. He is now in Russia with his family, TASS reported. Assad ordered his government to transfer power peacefully to Syria’s opposition groups. Russia called for all groups involved to renounce the use of violence and resolve all their governance issues through political efforts.

How are regional powers reacting to Assad’s downfall? Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday said that the Syrian people would now determine the future of their own country after the fall of the Assad regime. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday issued a similar statement, saying that Syria now belonged to Syrians of all ethnic and cultural identities.

Has the United States said anything about the situation? U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said that his administration would try to obtain the release of Austin Tice, a freelance journalist imprisoned in Syria since 2012. Earlier this year, Biden marked the 12th anniversary of Tice’s imprisonment. The United States will support international efforts to hold Assad’s regime accountable for atrocities it committed, including its use of chemical weapons against civilians, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.

How does the Islamic State group factor into the new situation in Syria? U.S. warplanes struck more than 75 targets affiliated with the Islamic State group, U.S. Central Command said on Sunday. The strikes aimed to ensure that the terrorist group did not take advantage of the regime change in Syria to rebuild itself, Central Command said.

Dig deeper: Read Travis K. Kircher’s report in The Sift about how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the United States should not intervene in the situation in Syria.