BREAKING: Mystery Syrian plane landed at Budapest Airport, Assad seeking Trump’s help from Budapest?
A Syrianair jet landed at Budapest Airport yesterday evening, but no Hungarian airport employees were allowed to serve or even get close to the mystery aircraft. Instead, Hungarian media wrote that units of the elite military branch Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) arrived to welcome the plane. News outlets suggest that President Bashar al-Assad took refuge in Hungary and would like to try to persuade Donald Trump through Orbán to provide American support for his fallen regime.
Rebel forces took Syria in just 11 days
According to Reuters, Syrian rebels took control of most of the country in just an 11-day-long campaign and occupied even Damascus last night. Crowds are celebrating the fall of the Assad family in the Middle Eastern country’s Homs, Damascus, Hama and other major cities while operations against “terrorist groups” continue.
Western powers are concerned because a globally designated terrorist group – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – has great influence on the forming administration. However, the former al Qaeda affiliate’s leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, promises a smooth power transition. Furthermore, “caretaker” Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali promises that Syrians will be free to choose their leaders in an upcoming democratic election.
Syria, led by the Alawite Assad family, was a bastion for Russia and Iran in the region, so Israel, among others, felt relieved by the regime’s fall. However, President Bashar al-Assad does not wish to give up yet.
A mysterious Syrian plane landed at Budapest Airport after Damascus fell
According to Reuters, media reports talk about a mystery plane taking off from Damascus airport when the Syrian capital was taken by rebel forces. First, it flew to Syria’s coastal region, where a Russian naval base and military airport is located. Then, it suddenly took a U-turn and disappeared from the maps. Although some sources say Assad was murdered on board, Magyar Hang wrote about a mystery plane that landed at Budapest Airport on Saturday evening.
They could not trace the plane’s flight route since it appeared out of the blue on Flightradar. Furthermore, employees of the Budapest Airport were not allowed to serve the jet. However, units of the Hungarian Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) arrived at the airport. Moreover, everybody was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Neither Orbán nor FM Szijjártó communicated about the event yet, and their offices also remained silent to the questions of Magyar Hang.
According to Bloomberg, Assad sent Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church Ignatius Aphrem II to PM Orbán to discuss the renewed fights in Syria and the state of the Christians in the country. The reason is that Hungary is committed to supporting persecuted Christians through one of the government’s secretariats led by State Secretary for Programmes Assisting Persecuted Christians Tristan Azbej.
Bloomberg wrote that the visit had a secret aim. Assad wanted to open diplomatic channels to President Trump, asking for help through the Hungarian prime minister.
Reuters wrote that Syria’s traditional allies, Iran and Russia, are unable to provide help for the overthrown leader due to focus on other crises.
Trump’s reaction
Donald Trump reacted to the situation in his Truth Social account and what he wrote is bad news for Assad:
“Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever. Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”
UPDATE: Fake news that a Syrian plane landed at Budapest Airport, says the airport
Budapest Airport denied that a Syrian plane landed at Budapest Airport yesterday. They added that such news could undermine public trust towards the airport, Telex reports.
UPDATE 2: Middle East Christians in Hungary’s focus, says FM Szijjártó
Hungary has a vested interest in stability in the Middle East and pays key focus to Christian communities in the region, the foreign minister said on Facebook on Sunday. Péter Szijjártó noted the government’s continued support to Christians in the region. Szijjártó said his ministry had contacted in the past few days those Hungarians living in Syria that were available, adding that none of them had so far requested assistance. The Hungarian embassy in Damascus is temporarily closed, and Hungarians seeking assistance could apply to the embassy in Beirut, which has introduced an extraordinary opening schedule, he said.
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