Syria’s New Leader Tells Russia to Hand Over Al Assad – and His ‘$2 Billion’ 

Syria’s ruler Ahmad Al Shara has demanded that Russia hand over former president Bashar Al Assad and an estimated $2 billion dollars in liquid assets held by the Assad family in Russian banks, during a meeting in Damascus, two sources told The National.

The meeting with a Russian delegation led by deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov also focused on other issues thorny but reached no agreement beyond maintaining contact, the sources said.

“Handing over [Bashar Al] Assad and all senior officers who escaped to Russia was the top of the list,” said a member of the new political staff at Syria’s former presidential palace, where the meeting took place. It was the first high-level, face-to-face contact since the fall of the Assad regime and Mr Al Assad fled to Moscow on December 8.

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Surrendering Mr Al Assad “would go a long way towards building up ties” with the new order in Damascus, the Russian delegation were told, the source said.

Source: Syria’s new leader tells Russia to hand over Al Assad – and his ‘$2 billion’ | The National