‘A blow to Putin’s prestige’: What al-Assad’s fall means for Russia

After overseeing 13 years of the devastation that has come to define Syria’s civil war, the country’s former president, Bashar al-Assad, has fled Damascus for Moscow.

“Following his talks with a number of participants in the armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, Bashar al-Assad decided to step down as the Syrian President and leave the country, instructing the government to transfer power peacefully,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

Russia’s official use of the word “opposition” to describe groups now in control of Damascus marks a shift. Just last week, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov adamantly referred to the groups as “terrorists” in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Russia proved a critical ally of the al-Assad regime after entering the conflict in 2015.

From providing diplomatic cover at the United Nations to deploying its extensive airpower in defence of the regime, analysts widely credit Russia with having maintained al-Assad’s rule.