Assad Ousted "Not Planned Asylum"...Rebels take off the image of 'armed forces'

[Anchor]
Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted from Syria and exiled to Russia, said he was forced to head to Russia and referred to the rebels as a terrorist group.

However, the rebels are also actively taking the diplomatic stage, speeding up the formation of a transitional government.

I'm reporter Hong Joo-ye.

[Reporter]
Assad, Syria's iron-fisted ruler, was the first to enter the country after defecting to Russia on the rebels' offensive.

"Leaving Syria was not planned," he said in a statement on the president's Telegram account, explaining that he had asked Russia to evacuate after a Russian base that had fled the rebels was also attacked.

At the same time, he stressed that the only option was to continue fighting terrorism.

The response from Syrian citizens is cold.

[Amal al-Khaldi / Damascus citizen] Assad says he did not abandon his position and his people, but he has abandoned his people a long time ago, not now. Starved, imprisoned, exiled, and orphaned the people? Anyone with a brain knows Assad abandoned his people a long time ago.]

A spokesman for the transitional government said Syria had entered a new phase, nailing that "the regime in Assad is over."

[Obeida Arnaut/ Spokesperson for Syria's transitional government: Political contacts are being made at the highest level in a way that benefits the Syrian people and empowers the administration]

In the meantime, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, who met with rebel leader Ahmed al-Shara, called for sanctions imposed on Syria under the Assad regime to be lifted.

In particular, it is eye-catching that Alshara, who was usually exposed in military uniform, appeared in a shirt and jacket at the meeting with the UN envoy.

It is interpreted as an attempt to shed the image of an Islamic militant leader and to promote normal diplomatic activities as a moderate ruling force.

I'm Hong Joo Ye of YTN.

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video: Han Kyung-hee