WSJ: Jordan and Egypt offered Assad to leave Syria

Officials of Egypt and Jordan have offered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave the republic and form an interim council, including representatives of the opposition, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing sources. The Jordanian Embassy in the United States denies this information.

Assad, as the WSJ found out, as of Friday, December 6, remained in Syria.

Qatar, the UAE and other Arab countries are concerned about the likelihood of the imminent fall of the Syrian government and destabilization in the region, sources told the newspaper. According to them, the Syrian president asked Turkey to intervene in what is happening, asked for weapons from Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Iraq, but was refused.

Homs remained the last major city under government control in Syria, which is located on the road between Damascus and the territory captured by the rebels. The population of Homs is about 800 thousand people, its loss will deprive the authorities of access to the Mediterranean coast, where the Alawite minority loyal to the government, to which Assad belongs, is concentrated, the WSJ clarifies.

"If Homs falls, I don't see how the regime will be able to survive," said Jerome Drevon, senior analyst on contemporary conflicts at the International Crisis Group.

Syrian rebels and militants concentrated in the northwestern province of Idlib, uncontrolled by government forces, launched a large-scale offensive on the morning of November 27. The key role in the offensive is played by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group* (HTS, recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia Russia) and separate units of the "Syrian National Army" (SNA, formerly known as the "Free Syrian Army"), which was supported by the United States and Turkey.

In a few days, the militants managed to occupy a number of key towns and villages in the province of Aleppo, as well as enter the largest city in northern Syria with the same name.

The Russian military in Syria is taking part in repelling the militants' offensive. The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported air strikes on rebel positions and their supply lines.

In early December, the Syrian army retreated from Hama, which is the fifth most populous city in Syria, home to about half a million people. The command explained what was happening as a "temporary tactical measure" necessary to save the lives of civilians, RBC reminds.

*Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation