In an interview conducted just hours after it was confirmed that former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been given sanctuary in Moscow, Talmiz Ahmad, an expert on the Middle East, has said that developments in Syria are “extraordinarily bewildering, totally unexpected… and very astonishing. No doubt about that.”

In a 27-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Ahmad, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia (twice), Oman and the United Arab Emirates, said he’s “very confident” that developments in Syria are a result of “a deep-seated conspiracy between Israel, Turkey and the United States.” Ahmad said there’s “no other explanation.”

Ahmad speaks at length about Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group that has captured Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Damascus, forcing Assad to flee his country.

Ahmad also assesses the impact of developments in Syria on Iran and Russia as well as Turkey. He says “this is a very serious setback for Iran.” He doesn’t seem to give the impression it’s a similarly serious setback for Russia.

Ahmad also assesses what this means for Israel and the wider Middle East region. Do developments in Syria have any implications for India? Assad always supported India’s position on Kashmir. Will al-Jolani do that?

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