Pro-Kremlin media outlets claim that US and Ukrainian forces were instrumental in toppling al-Assad, the EU East Stratcom Task Force reported on Thursday morning.
The task force was set up by the EU in 2015 as part of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Its flagship project is a database of articles on fake news. From the start of the war in Ukraine, it has been publishing weekly news about Russia’s disinformation and information manipulation.
While the Syrian people and most of the world celebrated the ending of the Assad family’s 54-year-long dictatorship, Moscow saw it differently. At the Doha Forum in Qatar on 7 December, a day before the fall of the regime and Assad’s escape to Russia, Foreign Minister Lavrov was quick to blame the US and its NATO allies for a global plot.
Given the Kremlin’s backing of the dictatorship during the civil war in Syria, the official Russian line deployed on all main state outlets was not to give it prominent coverage. In coverage of the topic, the line was to stick with the usual practice of blaming the US as the mastermind behind the events. Russian media also claimed that Ukraine had supported terrorist groups in Syria and that Israel could be behind them.
The Assad regime collapsed after a surprise military offensive by the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Encouraged by Turkey, the rebels took advantage of the opportunity when Assad’s allies Iran and Hezbollah had been weakened in the war with Israel and agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon. Russia was unable to divert troops and intervene because of its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Up until the fall of the Assad regime, Russia insisted on the so-called "Astana format" of negotiations (Russia, Iran, Turkey) to manage developments in Syria and bring about a political solution. This format is now recognized by Kremlin as lost. Both Russia and Iran, who supported the regime, have been forced to leave Syria and lost their military assets there.
The Kremlin even claimed that Assad had given instructions for a peaceful transition of power and resigned voluntarily. Assad’s presence in Russia is now presented as humanitarian asylum granted by Putin. This hypocrisy adds insult to injury to the countless Syrian refugees who over the years had to flee both Assad and Russian bombings, Stratcom writes.
The new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, issued a statement on Monday on behalf of the EU, stating that the “fall of Assad’s criminal regime marks a historic moment for the Syrian people… Now more than ever, it is imperative that all stakeholders engage in an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned dialogue on all key issues to ensure an orderly, peaceful and inclusive transition.”
