Assad takes desperate steps to hold on to power, asks US for help – Bloomberg

Assad is taking desperate steps to hold on to power and is asking the US for help, Bloomberg Vladislav Kravtsov

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is trying by all means to hold on to power in the country, against the backdrop of the rebel offensive. He is trying to ask the US for help through intermediaries.

This is reported by 24 Channel with reference to Bloomberg material. Now the Syrian opposition is already approaching the capital – Damascus.

How Assad is trying to hold on to power in Syria

The publication's sources noted that while Syrian rebels are closing in on Damascus, Bashar al-Assad is making a last-ditch effort to cling to power, including making indirect diplomatic overtures to the United States and newly elected President Donald Trump.

Thus, Assad ordered his army, some 30,000 to 40,000 men, to retreat to defend Damascus, effectively handing over most of the country to the rebels, who captured the major cities of Aleppo and Hama in a lightning offensive over the past week. They are now in the vicinity of Homs, less than 160 kilometers to the north.

Journalists also note that Syria's longtime ruler is signaling his readiness to reach an agreement that would allow him to hold on to the territory his army controls or guarantee his safe passage into exile if necessary.

One proposal Assad has made to the US through the UAE is for Syria to cease all cooperation with Iranian-backed militant groups such as Hezbollah if Western states can influence an end to the fighting.

Under another initiative, Assad sent a senior Christian leader to meet with Hungarian President Viktor Orban to convey what he sees as an existential threat to Syria's Christian minority if Islamist rebels win. The intention is that Orban, a Trump ally, will convey the danger to the new US president.

Iranian and Russian military support was once crucial to the 59-year-old president's survival, but with both countries distracted and exhausted by other conflicts, he is forced to take the gamble. Many Western officials say they find it hard to imagine Assad remaining in power.

Journalists note that the president's whereabouts are unknown, although he is believed to be in Damascus or his hometown of al-Qardaha, near Russia's Khmeimim airbase. It is also possible that he is in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Russian troops are also known to be in the Damascus area, at the Khmeimim air base and the Tartus naval base.

The publication notes that a key goal of Assad's talks with Western leaders is to retain control of part of the country and meet Turkey's demands for a political transition and the potential return of millions of Syrian refugees, which is a major concern for Ankara.

Assad is also proposing a new constitution and negotiating with the political opposition in exile, according to people familiar with the process.