Former Syrian ambassador to Moscow, Bashar al-Jaafari, applies for asylum in Russia.

Former Syrian representative to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, has applied for asylum in Russia, according to a source at TASS agency. The source confirmed that "the Syrian ambassador in Moscow requested asylum in Russia." Earlier reports indicated that al-Jaafari was summoned to Damascus, and the head of the Syrian diplomatic mission in Russia was changed. After the Syrian government requested his return to Damascus, sources reported that former Syrian representative to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, and his family were granted asylum in Russia. Sources added that al-Jaafari will not comply with the decision of the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This comes after the Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad al-Shibani, issued a decision two days ago to transfer the Syrian ambassador in Moscow to the central administration in Damascus. Al-Jaafari had previously escaped the violations of the former regime, holding the "system" responsible for running the country with a "mafia" mentality. In a surprising statement in December 2024, he emphasized that "Syria was not under a real regime, but was under the control of a corrupt system and mafia that held the country hostage to serve its own interests," considering that the country now belongs to all its citizens, praising their ability to overcome hardships and challenges. It is worth mentioning that al-Jaafari was appointed as Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations headquarters in New York in 2006, where he remained for years in that position, before being appointed as ambassador to Moscow in October 2022 after many years of work at the United Nations.