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Russia Says It Granted Asylum to Assad and His Family; World Leaders React to Historic Moment; Israeli Troops Move into Buffer Zone in Syria. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 09, 2024 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russia has granted former Syrian leader Bashar al- Assad and members of his family asylum. It was actually the Russians who first confirmed that Assad had left power and that he had left the country.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This is a historic day for the Middle East, the collapse of the Assad regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very surreal and I think the happiness is shared amongst all Syrians all around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, a warm welcome to our viewers joining us around the world. I'm Max Foster. It's Monday, December the 9th, 9 a.m. here in London and noon in Damascus, Syria, where CNN's team heard strikes in the early hours of Monday morning after the fall of Assad's regime. It's not immediately clear who carried out those strikes.

On Sunday, the leader of the rebel forces in Damascus delivered his first public remarks since their takeover of the country. Abu Mohammad al-Jolani says defeating the Assad regime is a, quote, victory for the entire Islamic nation.

Russia says that President Bashar al-Assad, a key ally to Vladimir Putin, fled to Moscow with his family where they were granted asylum. After rebels took the capital, they said they were actively searching for Assad. Some of the fighters, along with civilians, were seen ransacking his official residences and presidential office.

This morning, Syrians celebrated in the streets of Damascus, some waving rebel flags, and state TV marked the fall of Assad on the evening news last night, hours after he was overthrown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): Welcome. After 50 years of injustice under Baath Party rule and 13 years of crime, tyranny and displacement, and after a prolonged struggle in the face of all facets of the occupier's forces, the operations unit of the military leadership announced today, December 8th, 2024, the end of this dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria. Hello to our viewers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Amazing broadcast. That joining us now is CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Moscow. Fred, so his family's there. What do we know about him getting there and why he was given asylum?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this certainly was the culmination, if you will, of a very long day of uncertainty as to the whereabouts of the former Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad. The Russians late last night coming out and confirming that Assad, and as they put it, members of his family had arrived in Moscow and that they were being given asylum by the Russian authorities, as the Russians put it, on humanitarian grounds. So the Russians are essentially saying that they propped up Bashar al-Assad for a very long time.

They were, of course, one of the biggest military, also financial backers of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and that they would not now drop him and in fact allow him and members of his family to come here and obviously stay here as well now that they've been given asylum.

But again, this comes at or came at the end of a large day of uncertainty. And we mentioned some of that in the lead in to our live report right here, that when the rebel forces, when the opposition went into the capital, stormed the capital, when the regime essentially collapsed, they very quickly said that Bashar al-Assad had fled Damascus, that he was not in Damascus, but they did not know the whereabouts of Bashar al-Assad.

And it was indeed the Russian foreign ministry that was the first to come out and confirm that Bashar al-Assad had left the country. They came out with a statement in the early afternoon hours yesterday saying that Assad had told his subordinates to make sure that there is a transfer of power in Syria and that he had then left the country, as they put it.

The Russians themselves apparently also coming to terms with the fact that the Assad government is no more in Syria. What we are hearing is that here in Moscow, at the Syrian embassy in Moscow, where yesterday we were in front of that embassy, there was no flag. Apparently by now the flag of the Syrian opposition flies there as well. So the Russians now themselves also saying they are going to be working with all groups on the ground.

Of course, we know, Max, that the Russians still have a lot of military assets on the ground inside Syria -- Max. FOSTER: This was Russia's key ally, wasn't it, in the Middle East. So what does this mean for Russia?

PLEITGEN: Absolutely, Russia's key ally, by far its closest ally, its most important ally.

[04:05:00]

And I think for Russia, it certainly could mean that they will have much less influence in the Middle East than they have had before. There were two main assets or big assets that the Russians had for a very long time inside Syria and still continue to have. And that is an air base near the city of Latakia at a place called Khmeimim, from which they supported Bashar al-Assad's forces, really at the height of the Syrian civil war, with bombing campaigns, with air support for Assad's ground forces.

So that was a very important, not just hub for Russian military jets, but also a transit hub for Russia then to project power into the entire Mediterranean region and all the way into Western Africa as well. So that certainly is an important asset for the Russians.

And then also they have a major port in the city of Tartus. And just last week, the Russians conducted a huge military naval exercise from that port, where they fired missiles that are nuclear capable from ships within the Mediterranean Sea. And that was also certainly something where the Russians projected power into Mediterranean area and into a lot of conflicts that were going on in the Mediterranean area from that port town as well for the Russians.

So this Syria is very, very important for the Russians, was very important. Bashar al-Assad was very important. So for them, it really is unclear what will happen next for their forces on the ground. And of course, also for Russia's standing inside the Middle East -- Max.

FOSTER: Obviously, this happened very quickly. But I'm just wondering how the state media in Russia are framing this.

PLEITGEN: Yes, yes. So that's something that we actually kept an eye on a lot yesterday. And in the beginning of the day yesterday, when it was clear that Assad had fallen, there was a big transition taking place. There really wasn't very much in the way of coverage on state media. They did lead the newscasts, but it certainly wasn't something that was dealt with in depth in wall-to-wall coverage like you would see on a lot of Western channels, a lot of Middle Eastern channels as well.

The other thing that we also noticed is that a lot of the information that was being given from state media seemed to come secondhand from Western TV channels or Western media and also Middle Eastern publications as well.

Right now, there is a lot more coverage than there was before. The Russians obviously understand that they are going to have to deal with this, that this is going to be a huge topic in Russian society, in Russian media, in Russian politics as well, because of course, it does potentially deal a pretty large blow to Russia's foreign policy, to the power that they can project within the Middle East, but also globally as well. So it is certainly something that is being discussed here in a lot of venues, and of course, also now on state media as well.

But certainly, if you look at a lot of the state media, even this morning, I was just watching it before we went to air here, the situation in Ukraine, still very much center stage over what is going on in Syria right now -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Fred Pleitgen, live in Moscow. Thank you so much for that perspective.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to seize a buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces for decades. It comes as Israel warned residents of the area to stay in their homes.

Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. I mean, there have been various sort of movements, haven't they, involving countries outside Syria, within the country. This is an opportunity to, you know, make some, you know, movements around this chaos. How would you regard it?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, I think at this point, Israel would be concerned. And we've heard that they're concerned, as many that have a border with Syria are, as to what comes next.

So what we've heard from the Defense Minister Israel Katz is that he has ordered the military to station soldiers, military personnel in this buffer zone. There's a sort of heightened strategic position of Mount Hermon, which sits just on the border between Israel, the Golan Heights, which Israel took from Syria in the 1967 war and has since annexed Lebanon and Syria. So it's a key area which we heard from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They decided to move into when they saw that the regime soldiers from Syria, the Assad regime soldiers, were moving out.

They were concerned about a vacuum there and who might fill that vacuum. So what we're hearing from the Israeli side is that they are within this area. Now, it's an area they have not been in for decades, but it is an area they believe they have to station soldiers in.

Let's listen to the prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers. One of them is the collapse of the separation of forces agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria.

[04:10:00]

This agreement held for 50 years. Last night it collapsed. The Syrian army abandoned its positions. The Syrian army abandoned its positions.

We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: The IDF has issued warnings to residents of Syria in that buffer zone itself to stay inside. They have also ordered the Israeli military to make sure that there is no kind of smuggling of weapons from Iran to Lebanon through Syria. So that's another key reason why the Israeli military believes it does need to be there.

Now, we did hear that there were airstrikes overnight in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Our CNN team on the ground reported that. It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible for that.

We have heard from Reuters saying they believe it was the Israeli military, but the military not commenting on that. We did see, though, just last Friday a rare acknowledgement from Israel that they had carried out airstrikes in Damascus. Usually they don't admit to strikes in countries outside of their domain.

But it's certainly a concern for Israel. They had had this uneasy truce, if you like, on that border with Syria. Not that they were particularly supportive or liked the Assad regime, considering there was plenty of weapons smuggling that went through that area to the detriment of Israel.

But it was a border they did not feel the need to guard quite so heavily. So they now have these troops in this buffer zone, which separates the Golan Heights and Syria -- Max.

FOSTER: Paula in Abu Dhabi. Thank you.

Back in Syria, some of the most powerful images so far are coming from the prisons the regime kept packed.

This video was shot inside the notorious Saydnaya prison. It can be hard to tell in the chaos of these pictures, but we're told these are rebel forces releasing prisoners that were held there. Families have been gathering, searching for loved ones perceived as threats to the previous government. Countless Syrian men, women and children have disappeared into this facility in what's known to be inhumane conditions. Human rights groups say thousands never came out.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the collapse of the Assad regime a, quote, fundamental act of justice. He also offered a blueprint for how the U.S. plans to support the Middle East in this moment of instability. In remarks from the White House on Sunday, he's sending U.S. officials to the region and says he plans to speak with his counterparts there in the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country. It's also a moment of risk and uncertainty. As we all turn to the question of what comes next, the United States will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump is commenting on developments in Syria. CNN's Alayna Treene reports from West Palm Beach, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: The toppling of the Assad regime in Syria could further complicate President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to tamp down the wars in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas, but also the war between Russia and Ukraine. Now we first heard Donald Trump weigh in on the conflict in Syria on Saturday when he wrote, quote: That the U.S. should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved.

But then overnight, after the rebels had successfully taken over Damascus, Donald Trump wrote this.

He said, quote: Assad is gone. He has fled his country, his protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. He went on to argue that Russia is now in a weakened state due to its war with Ukraine, and then said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president who we met with just on Saturday, a day before, in France, he said that he wants to, quote, would like to make a deal and stop the madness.

He then went on to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table, saying that he knows Putin very well and wants to see an end to that war.

So altogether, this could, again, complicate Donald Trump's efforts for what he has promised throughout his time on the campaign trail, which is to try and end the war, what he said was within 24 hours, but very quickly once being sworn in.

[04:15:00]

But there are other concerns as well that are weighing on the minds of Donald Trump's team when I spoke to them about this.

One is that how could this potentially impact the region overall? Could this conflict in Syria spill over into other neighboring countries like Lebanon? But also there are concerns about the resurgence of some extremist groups like ISIS or others that could gain a foothold due to what is happening right now in Syria and kind of the instability in the region. So all of this is something that they are working on. But again, Donald Trump is still just president-elect. He is still in the midst of his transition, and this will be something he will have to confront come January 20th.

Alayna Treene, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A retired U.S. Army Major General Mark MacCarley joins us live from Glendale, California. Thank you so much for joining us. I mean, there's a lot of hope in Syria today because there's no doubt it was a horribly repressive regime, but we don't know what's going to replace it. And this is a strategically important country with a lot of military assets right now.

MAJ. GEN. MARK MACCARLEY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): That's absolutely true. And as multiple contributors on the CNN team have said, we don't know what's going to happen next. We're in a phase of jubilance.

Assad has been displaced. We have expressions of freedom, appreciation, acknowledgement of all that's taken place. But there's so many multiple factors here.

First being that Jolani, who is the titular head of the perhaps new government, his HTA, which was the front leaning forward organization, consists of multiple different organizations that have been in Syria for a long period of time. He's put these groups together. They have successfully coalesced and they've achieved what we're now celebrating.

The only issue is whether this relationship will survive this period of jubilance or we'll have a lot of splinter groups trying either to assemble to get something related to a consensus or start biting at each other, scratching and perhaps creating further chaos in the area.

The second is that we have the evacuation of what appears to be a significant, but we don't know how do you define the term significant quantum or number of Syrian military personnel. What we don't know to any degree whatsoever is the extent to which the significant arsenals of the Syrian armed forces have either been removed, taken someplace else, whether these arsenals are secure in any sense whatsoever.

And thirdly, if in fact these arsenals exist and there is a significant, big, big concern that within these arsenals we might indeed find that cache of chemical weapons, which was a subject of a tool that Assad used back at the time, the commencement of the civil war, the years 2011, 12, 13, 14, and whether those caches of chemical weapons are adequately secured by some authority that is responsible and would either destroy them or remove them as a temptation for any number of players who find themselves within the borders of Syria now, including ISIS.

FOSTER: Who's protecting the international community here? Because the reality is that America doesn't have much influence there. They pulled out all of their presence effectively, didn't they? Under I think the Obama administration. So as much as Joe Biden talks about, you know, making sure there's some sort of smooth transition here, he's not the key player. So who's going to have the say?

MACCARLEY: Yes. Oh my God, that is distinct. And from my perspective, deadly accurate observation of what's taking place. We have basically vacated. There is right now a vacuum. That's going to be the discussion in the next couple of days.

It began even tonight in which we've talked about Russia, what Russia is going to do. Will Russia once again engage with this new ostensible government in order to maintain its bases? And then if Russia is there, then the question is, where are -- where is the West?

And that question was not answered by President Biden tonight. I felt I expected him to say something along the lines of, yes, not only are we going to be monitoring, but we will reinforce the 900 military personnel we have east of Syria for the purpose of very jointly and skillfully attacking ISIS as ISIS continues to stir up conflicts in that part of Syria.

[04:20:08]

Now, we know that there were a couple of airstrikes by U.S. forces. That's a positive thing. But there is no right now strategy that we have on our side as to how to properly engage this new government, these new forces, and how, once again, if I slip back to the issue of weapons of mass destruction, how they are going to be contained. So that's a huge problem that has not yet been adequately addressed. Certainly, that's my opinion.

FOSTER: OK, Mark, thank you so much. There's a lot to worry about in the future as we celebrate on the ground or see those celebrations on the ground.

Now, after the break, rap superstar Jay-Z responding to allegations of sexual assault.

Plus, New York law enforcement releases new photos of the man suspected of gunning down a top health insurance CEO still on the run almost a week later.

And Taylor Swift ended the Eras tour on Sunday night in Canada, coming up what the singer revealed to her audience during that final show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:00]

FOSTER: These are images that were inconceivable just a few days ago. If you're looking at what we're told of people looting former president Bashar al-Assad's presidential office in Damascus, simply walking off with whatever they can carry. But now it's commonplace since Assad's dictatorship crumbled a little over 24 hours ago in the face of advancing rebels.

We'll have much more on what's happening, what comes next ahead. But now to some other stories that we're following for you today. Authorities in New York are combing through evidence as the man who shot and killed a health insurance CEO remains on the run. The NYPD has released more pictures of the alleged shooter believed to have left the city. But authorities are still trying to confirm the suspect's identity as well as find the weapon used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

On Sunday, divers once again searched a lake in New York's Central Park hoping to find the gun used in the crime. In another part of the park, police found the gunman's backpack with monopoly money inside.

Jay-Z, meanwhile, calling the sexual assault allegations levelled against him heinous and idiotic. A woman is already suing rapper Sean Diddy Combs. Now she's updating that lawsuit to include Jay-Z, whose real name is Sean Carter. The woman alleges that both men assaulted her at a party in the year 2000 when she was just 13 years old. Jay-Z is married to singer Beyonce and says he's being blackmailed.

Now Syrians in Lebanon and many other countries are celebrating the fall of the Assad regime. We'll bring you the very latest from there next.