Russia grants Assad asylum after Trump claims Putin 'not interested in protecting him': TASS

Russian state-owned news agency TASS, citing a source in the Kremlin, confirmed overthrown Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow “after being granted asylum in Russia,” CNN’s Jim Scuitto reports.

Syrian rebel forces on Sunday advanced into Damascus “unopposed … overthrowing” Assad “and ending nearly six decades of his family's iron-fisted rule,” Reuters reports. "In one of the most consequential turning points in the Middle East for generations, the fall of Assad's government wiped out a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world. Moscow gave him and his family asylum."

Russia’s decision to grant Assad asylum comes as Trump, early Sunday morning,” claimed Putin “ was not interested in protecting [Assad] any longer.”

READ MORE: 'Much bigger lift': Trump bets on 'huge slate of lawyers' to overcome GOP’s 'nothing-margin of control'

"There was no reason for Russia to be [in Syria] on the first place,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social/X cross-post. The president-elect's statement also referred to “ Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin" as to Assad’s “protector."

Here’s the full post:

“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. 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. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”

As New York Times Department of Justice reporter Glenn Thrush noted on in a tweet, Trump’s take on the Syrian geopolitical crisis “is kinda wow.”

After his slated successor tweeted his analysis in the early Sunday morning hours, President Joe Biden on Sunday heralded his administration’s role in weakening Assad's regime.

READ MORE: GOP senator lashes out at 'hypocritical' CNN over audio of Hegseth 'talking about drinking at 10 a.m.'

“For years the main backers of Assad have been Iran, Hezbollah and Russia,” Biden said. “But over the last week their support collapsed, all three of them, because all three of them are far weaker today than they were than when I took office.”

You can watch that video below or at this link.

READ MORE: 'Landmines loom over' GOP agenda as senator warns Congress not 'on the same page' with Trump’s agenda