Russia evacuates some diplomats out of Syria

Russia has evacuated some of its diplomats out of the Syrian capital Damascus, while its embassy continues to function. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that the diplomats were transported by a Russian Aerospace Forces flight from the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria to Moscow and the flight arrived at an airport near Moscow. The number of people aboard has not been specified.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the US on Saturday made “direct



contact” with the HTS rebel group, which has led the rebels.

The British government has also had “diplomatic contact” with the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who are now in control of the country after resting power from the ousted President Bashar al-Assad. The British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed the development and said that HTS remains a banned terrorist outfit, but the UK has had diplomatic contact with the group.