The Russian embassy in Damascus demanded today, Friday, December 6, that Russian citizens leave Syria immediately.
In a statement via its Telegram account on Friday, December 6th, the embassy stated that due to the difficult military and political situation in Syria, it is asking Russian citizens living in Syria to depart the country on commercial flights available through existing airports.
The statement further indicated that the Russian embassy and its consular section in Damascus will continue to operate as usual.
These Russian calls come after similar requests from the Chinese embassy in Damascus, which urged its citizens on Thursday to leave or return to their country as soon as possible due to escalating security risks in Syria.
In its statement, the Chinese embassy in Syria said, “We advise our nationals to leave or return to the country at the earliest opportunity due to increased security risks.”
Opposition factions in Syria have been advancing since launching the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation on November 27th.
During that operation, the Military Operations Administration took control of the city of Aleppo and most of its countryside, as well as the entirety of Idlib province and much of Hama province, and they are now at the gates of the city of Homs.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted today the necessity of returning to the implementation of the Idlib agreements, as Syrian opposition factions continue their advance toward Homs.
Lavrov stated that the “de-escalation zone” in Idlib has become the place from which those described as “terrorists” moved to seize Aleppo.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan commented that after Idlib and Hama comes Homs, with the goal being of course Damascus, in reference to the advance of Syrian opposition factions northward at the expense of Syrian government forces.
The Anadolu Agency quoted the Turkish president’s remarks today, December 6th, stating, “We contacted al-Assad and told him: Let’s determine Syria’s future together. Unfortunately, we did not receive a positive response on this matter.”
Erdoğan added that after Idlib, the opposition captured Hama and is moving toward Homs, with advancements also being made toward Damascus.
The Turkish president’s comments came just hours after similar statements he made on Thursday, where he claimed that a shift is occurring in Syria.
Turkey supports many armed Syrian opposition forces and has military bases in northern Syria, along the front lines with government forces, prior to the expansion of opposition control.
Conversely, Russia supports the Syrian regime, controlling key political and military decisions while maintaining bases along the Syrian coast.