Syria’s ousted president Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow, a Kremlin source told Russian news agencies, hours after he fled the country as Islamist-led rebels entered Damascus.

The announcement comes as Russia, a key Assad ally, called for an emergency meeting of the UN security council on the fast-changing situation on the ground in the war-torn country.

“Assad and members of his family have arrived in Moscow,” the source told the TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies. “Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds,” he added.

Asked whether Assad was confirmed to be in Moscow, a Western official said they believed that was likely the case and had no reason to doubt Moscow’s claim.

The Kremlin source also said the rebels who ousted Assad in a lightning offensive “guaranteed the security of Russian army bases and diplomatic institutions on Syria’s territory”.

Russia, Assad’s biggest backer along with Iran, holds a naval base in Tartus and a military airfield in Khmeimim.

Moscow’s forces became militarily involved in the Syrian conflict in 2015, providing support for Assad’s forces to crush the opposition in the bloody civil war.

“Russia has always been in favour of a political solution to the Syrian crisis. Our starting point is the need to resume negotiations under the auspices of the UN,” the Kremlin source added.

A Russian representative to the United Nations announced that Moscow had requested an emergency closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Syria for Monday afternoon.

“The consequences (of the events in Syria) for this country and the whole region have not yet been measured,” the official said on Telegram.

AFP

Islamist-led rebels toppled Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive that a UN envoy called “a watershed moment” for the nation marred by civil war.

Here are key reactions from around the world:

‘Return to stability’: China
China’s foreign ministry said it hopes Syria “returns to stability as soon as possible” in the wake of the overthrow.

Beijing “is closely following the development of the situation in Syria and hopes that Syria returns to stability as soon as possible”, the foreign ministry said.

‘Political dialogue’: Iran
Diplomats from Assad ally Iran were reported to have left the embassy in Damascus before it was attacked by “unknown individuals” on Sunday, Iranian state TV said.

Their departure followed calls by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday for “political dialogue” between the Syrian government and opposition groups.

‘Country in turmoil’: Turkey
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the overthrow of the Assad regime was not sudden but rather the result of the grinding civil war.

“Of course, this didn’t happen overnight. For the last 13 years, the country has been in turmoil,” Fidan said at conference in Doha.

‘Work together’: UAE
A senior United Arab Emirates official urged Syrians on Sunday to collaborate in order to avert a spiral into chaos.

“We hope that the Syrians will work together, that we don’t just see another episode of impending chaos,” presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

‘Cautious hope’: UN
The UN envoy for Syria called the rebel takeover “a watershed moment” for the country marred by nearly 14 years of civil war.

“Today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new (chapter) — one of peace, reconciliation, dignity and inclusion for all Syrians,” special envoy Geir Pedersen said.

‘Russia not interested any longer’: Trump
US President-elect Donald Trump attributed the fall of Assad to losing the backing of Russia.

“Assad is gone,” he said on his Truth Social platform. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”

His comments followed an earlier statement from National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett that President Joe Biden was keeping a close eye on “extraordinary events” transpiring and remained in constant contact with regional partners.

AFP

France on Saturday prepared to throw open the doors of the capital’s Notre Dame cathedral after a half-decade closure, in a ceremony attended by dozens of world leaders celebrating the rebirth of the Paris landmark ravaged by a devastating fire.

Held up as an example of French creativity and resilience by President Emmanuel Macron, Notre Dame’s renaissance so soon after a 2019 blaze that destroyed its roof and spire comes at a difficult time for the country.

The re-opening will officially take place when archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich opens the doors to the cathedral at 1800 GMT, by knocking three times, to herald the start of the almost two-hour ceremony.

Macron has scored a major coup by attracting US president-elect Donald Trump, on his first foreign trip since his election, for the ceremony along with some 40 other leaders, including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and the UK’s heir to the throne, Prince William.

It is “a cathedral like we have never seen before,” Philippe Jost, the head of the restoration project, told Franceinfo radio, saying he was proud to “show the whole world” a “great collective success and a source of pride for all of France”.

In one last-minute hitch, harsh weather forced officials to move Macron’s planned speech indoors and pre-record a concert planned for after the ceremony, with forecasts for winds of up to 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour.

The service will feature prayer, organ music and hymns from the cathedral’s choir, followed by the televised concert — pre-recorded Friday night due to the weather — with performances by Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang, South African opera singer Pretty Yende and an orchestra conducted by Venezuelan maestro Gustavo Dudamel.

US singer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams is also believed to have taken part.

The sense of national accomplishment in restoring a beloved symbol of Paris has been undercut by political turmoil that has left France without a proper government and in a budget crisis.

Macron is hoping the re-opening might provide a fleeting sense of pride and unity — as the Paris Olympics did in July and August.

The scale of the immense security operation also recalls the Olympics — with some 6,000 police officers and gendarmes mobilised.

The re-opening “is the proof that we know how to do grand things, we know how to do the impossible” Macron said Thursday.

During a visit with TV cameras last week. however, he somewhat undermined the suspense behind the re-opening, revealing the cathedral’s freshly scrubbed limestone walls, new furniture and vaulted wooden roof cut from ancient oak trees selected from the finest forests of France.

The reconstruction effort has cost around 700 million euros ($750 million), financed from donations, with the re-opening achieved within five years despite predictions it could take decades.

“This state-of-the-art restoration, the fruit of a worldwide collective effort and the use of many traditional French skills, has enabled this masterpiece to regain all its splendour,” said Audrey Azoulay, the head of the UN cultural agency UNESCO, describing the work as “dazzling”.

Trump accepted an invitation from Macron to attend earlier this week, saying the French leader had done “a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so.”

Travelling on a private plane, he landed at Orly airport in the south of Paris Saturday morning, followed by Zelensky a few hours later. US President Joe Biden will be represented by his wife, Jill.

One surprising absentee will be Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, who is instead visiting the French island of Corsica. A message from Francis addressed to the French people will be read out to the congregation.

Parisians watched in horror in 2019 as flames ravaged Notre Dame, a landmark famed as the setting for Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and one of the world’s most visited monuments.

The apocalyptic images were seen by some as a sign of the demise of Western civilisation, with the 850-year-old wonder saved from complete collapse only by the heroic intervention of firefighters.

The exact cause of the blaze has never been identified despite a forensic investigation by prosecutors, who believe an accident such as an electrical fault was the most likely reason.

On Sunday, the first mass with 170 bishops and more than 100 Paris priests will take place at 10:30 am (0930 GMT), followed by a second service in the evening at 6:30 pm which will be open to the public.

AFP