Russia's ambassador to Iraq stated that Moscow will not extradite ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, having granted him humanitarian asylum, according to an X post by @Alhadath_Brk shared between 9:16 PM and 10:16 PM UTC on December 18. The ambassador said, "We will not extradite Bashar al-Assad. We have granted him humanitarian asylum," in the post during this 59-minute period. This confirmation addresses Assad's status nearly one year after his ouster in December 2024. Separately, The Economist selected Syria as its country of the year for 2025, with Argentina as runner-up, according to an X post by @spectatorindex shared in the same window. This development occurs amid ongoing post-Assad changes in Syria, including a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report of over 3.2 million Syrian returns since Assad's fall, as noted in a flash update shared earlier on December 18.
