MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Foreign actors, such as Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Israel, will prevent Syria from disintegrating as a state, Vitaly Naumkin, the academic director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS.
"I believe that Russia and our partners will not allow that," he said. The researcher noted that the Kurdish issue is the focal point for this. "Kurds would very much like to secede, but I don’t think anyone would let them, most importantly the victors in Syria themselves. It is also important to understand what the Turks need. Turkey will not allow it either, and neither will Iran," the expert assured.
Israel "does not need this territory, as the Israelis have already taken the Golan Heights," he said. "Maybe they will also take the buffer zone, then Homs, but they will not go to Hama," the researcher speculated. "I don’t think Syria will collapse."
When addressing the prospects of relations between Russia and the new Syrian government, Naumkin noted that "contacts have already been established." According to him, the removal of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, banned in Russia) from the list of terrorist groups will be decided by Russian authorities. "We already have communication, it was recognized de facto," he added.
On November 27, Syria’s armed opposition launched a large-scale offensive against government forces in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces. By the evening of December 7, they had captured several major cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deraa, and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus. Assad resigned as the Syrian president and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government until March 1, 2025.