ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - In his first message since fleeing to Russia after rebel groups began marching into the capital Damascus, Syria’s toppled Bashar al-Assad said that he did not plan on leaving the country, which he claimed has now fallen “into the hands of terrorism.”

Anti-government groups, spearheaded by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took over the Syrian capital city of Damascus on December 8, after an 11-day blitz offensive, sending Assad fleeing and ending his 24-year reign.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov a day later officially announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally granted asylum to Assad and his family. Russian state media reported that the asylum was granted on “humanitarian” grounds.

The Syrian presidency media office on Monday published a letter attributed to Assad, in which the toppled president attempts to explain the circumstances which led to his departure and address the “flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth, aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria.”

“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” wrote Assad, adding that he remained in Damascus until the early hours of December 8, before moving to Latakia, in coordination with his Russian allies, to “oversee combat operations.”

“Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen,” he added. “With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base's command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8. December.”

Assad claimed that he never considered stepping down or seeking refuge, and stated that his planned course of action was to continue to stand by the army in fighting the rebel groups, whom he labeled as “terrorists”, as he had during the over a decade-long Syrian civil war.

“I have never sought positions for personal gain but have always considered myself as a custodian of a national project, supported by the faith of the Syrian people, who believed in its vision,” read the letter.

“With the fall of the state in the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless,” he added.

Assad emphasized that his departure from the presidency does not diminish his sense of belonging to Syria and the Syrian people, describing it as “a belonging filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent.”