The president described the fall of the regime as ‘a moment of historic opportunity’ for Syrians and ‘a moment of risk and uncertainty.’
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Dec. 8 from the White House, praising the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria while expressing caution over the immediate uncertainty for the country and the region.
The president said his administration will engage with Syrian groups to assist in creating a new government for an independent and sovereign Syria.
“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen,” Biden said. “This regime brutalized, tortured, and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. A fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice.”
Biden described the fall of the regime as “a moment of historic opportunity” for Syrians and “a moment of risk and uncertainty.”
He said that the Syrian people would decide the process of forming a new government.
“The United States will do whatever we can to support them, including through humanitarian relief, to help restore Syria after more than a decade of war,” Biden said.
Biden delivered remarks after Assad was forced to flee Syria following a swift rebel takeover of the capital city of Damascus; rebels declared victory on the morning of Dec. 8.
Biden also said the United States will support Syria’s neighboring countries—Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel—amid the potential threats posed by the power transition in Syria.
He said he will send senior U.S. officials to the region.
Assad and his family have received asylum in Russia, according to the Russian state media.
“Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum,” state-run Russian news agency TASS stated, citing a source in the Kremlin.
Assad’s departure brings an end to his family’s more than half-century reign over the country.
Biden said the regime fell as a result of the withdrawal of the backing of Iran, Russia, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group over the past week.
“All three of them are far weaker today than they were when I took office,” Biden said.
By Emel Akan
