David Israel15 Kislev 5785 – December 16, 2024

President Vladimir Putin with former President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia has cautioned Israel against exploiting the shifting dynamics in Syria, warning against any actions that could escalate tensions, particularly concerning the Golan Heights. In an interview with TASS, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov underscored Moscow’s firm stance, calling the annexation of the disputed territory “absolutely unacceptable.”

Ryabkov also revealed the Russian effort to smuggle President al-Assad from Syria in a clandestine operation.

“Undoubtedly, Israel is the primary beneficiary of recent developments,” the deputy minister told TASS. “I would like to caution certain ‘hotheads’ in West Jerusalem against overestimating their leverage. I would also remind them, among other things, that the annexation of the Golan Heights, as many are now saying, remains entirely impermissible. Israel must return to full compliance with the well-known 1974 agreement with Syria.”

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Ryabkov. / National Nuclear Research University (MEPhI) / Flickr

After the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel occupied and assumed control over the Golan Heights. In the aftermath, Syria rejected any negotiations with Israel, as outlined in the Khartoum Resolution during the 1967 Arab League summit.

Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a disengagement agreement restored the civil administration of one-third of the Golan Heights, including the city of Quneitra, to Syria. Meanwhile, Israel began constructing settlements in the remaining territory, which continued under military administration until the Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law in 1981, effectively extending Israeli law to the region. This move was widely regarded as an annexation.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the law in Resolution 497, declaring that Israel’s decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was “null and void and without international legal effect.”

On March 25, 2019, the United States formally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This declaration, issued by the Trump administration, marked the first time any country had acknowledged Israeli control over the territory, which is internationally still regarded as part of Syria.

FLY ME ON A GHOST JET

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also told NBC News that Vladimir Putin personally granted political asylum to Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, December 8, after he had been overthrown by rebels and forced to flee. Ryabkov stated that al-Assad had been transferred to Russia on a military plane “in the most secure manner.”

Russian agents reportedly urged the Syrian President to flee as soon as rebel forces had seized key cities across Syria. They conveyed Putin’s blunt, brief warning to Assad: “You’re going to lose.”

It is understood that President Vladimir Putin personally approved Bashar al-Assad’s rescue, though the Russian leader reportedly has no intention of meeting with Assad now that he is in exile.

Russian intelligence agents orchestrated the dramatic escape, flying al-Assad out of Syria to Moscow via a Russian air base on the Syrian coast, Bloomberg News reported, citing key sources. The ousted dictator was instructed to reveal nothing about the operation, and the aircraft’s transport signals had been disabled to prevent tracking – which is why the plane disappeared in mid-flight and was considered downed.

Putin has yet to comment publicly on the collapse of the Assad regime.