Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied planning to flee Syria, in what appear to be his first comments since rebel forces took control of the country.
The Syrian Presidency Telegram account posted a statement on Monday night (AEST) purporting to be from the former dictator, almost eight days after he arrived in Moscow where he was granted asylum along with his family.
In the statement, he insisted he remained in the Syrian capital Damascus until rebel fighters arrived in the city, and then moved to the Hmeimim Russian air base further north.
He said that base then came under attack from drones, which prompted Russian officials to order his evacuation to Moscow.
"At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party," the statement read.
"The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught."
Despite that admission, Assad tried to justify his departure from the presidency.
"When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless," the statement read.
"This does not, in any way, diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her people — a bond that remains unshaken by any position or circumstance.
"It is a belonging filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent."
The former president also tried to rebut character assessments levelled at him in recent days.
"I reaffirm that the person who, from the very first day of the war, refused to barter the salvation of his nation for personal gain, or to compromise his people in exchange for numerous offers and enticements is the same person who stood alongside the officers and soldiers of the army on the front lines, just meters from terrorists in the most dangerous and intense battlefields," the statement read.
"He is the same person who, during the darkest years of the war, did not leave but remained with his family alongside his people, confronting terrorism under bombardment and the recurring threats of terrorist incursions into the capital over fourteen years of war.
"Furthermore, the person who has never abandoned the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, nor betrayed his allies who stood by him, cannot possibly be the same person who would forsake his own people or betray the army and nation to which he belongs."
It is the first post on the Telegram account since December 7, when the channel released a statement rejecting suggestions Assad had left Damascus.
In the days leading up to opposition forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) arriving in the capital, speculation had been rife the president and his family had already fled the country to Russia.
