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Russia has refused to extradite former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow following his ouster. The confirmation came from Syria’s transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa in an interview with The New York Times, marking the first official acknowledgment that Russian authorities have rejected the request to hand Assad over to the new Syrian government.
Assad and his family fled to Russia in December. Syria’s new leadership formally requested his extradition the following month. Despite Moscow’s refusal, al-Sharaa stated that his administration is willing to continue negotiations with the Kremlin.
“Russia is a permanent member of the [UN] Security Council. Syria’s weapons are entirely Russian. And there are many food and energy agreements that Syria has relied on for many years. We must take these Syrian interests into consideration,” al-Sharaa said.
The interim president also noted that the Syrian government is negotiating with both Russia — which backed Assad — and Turkey, which supported al-Sharaa during his time as a leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
“Turkey has a military presence in Syria and Russia also has a military presence. We’ve nullified past agreements between Syria and other countries, and are in the process of developing new ones.”
The first official talks between Russia and Syria’s new leadership took place at the end of January, when a delegation led by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov visited Damascus. Following the meeting, Syrian authorities released a statement saying that Damascus expects Moscow to acknowledge its past mistakes, offer compensation, and assist in the reconstruction of the country. Reports also indicate that the future of Russia’s two military bases in Syria — the Khmeimim airbase near Latakia and the naval facility in Tartus — was discussed.
Middle East experts interviewed by The Insider noted that Assad’s extradition to Damascus remains unlikely. However, they said Syria’s new government may allow Russia to retain a military presence in the country as a counterbalance to Turkish influence.