How the Syrian President secretly flew to meet Putin

The plane carrying President Bashar Assad may have departed from a Russian base in Syria and turned off its radar transponder during the flight.

Syrian President Assad (left) and Russian President Putin during a meeting in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

Assad’s trip to Moscow was conducted in secret and was only officially announced after the Syrian president returned to Damascus. A plane-watching blogger has discovered the route Syrian President Assad may have taken to Moscow, using data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24.

The blogger discovered that an Il-62M aircraft with registration number RA-86539 of Russian airline Rossiya Airlines, on October 19, may have departed from Moscow’s Chkalovsky airport to the Hmeymim air base in Syria to pick up Mr. Assad. The plane turned off its radar transponder after takeoff.

The aircraft was then seen briefly the following morning over the Caspian Sea, north of Iran. It did not broadcast an identification code. It then continued on to Moscow.

Mr. Assad likely returned to Syria on another Il-62M aircraft, with registration number 86559. This aircraft kept its radar transponder on throughout the flight on the evening of October 20, but did not transmit an identification code. It then returned to Russia with the official identification number RFF7094.

The plane was seen on radar appearing in the Caspian Sea on October 20. Photo: Live Journal

According to Sputnik, Mr. Assad's trip had to be carried out in absolute secrecy, due to security concerns that the plane could be intercepted at low altitude in Damascus, where the Islamic State group and other militants maintain a presence. As it passed over Iraq, Mr. Assad's plane was at risk of being intercepted by US-led coalition aircraft.

This is Mr. Assad's first foreign trip since the Syrian conflict broke out in 2011. According to the New York Times, diplomats speculate that the reason Mr. Assad does not travel abroad is because he fears that people in his close circle will have the opportunity to overthrow him.

According to Sputnik, information about Assad leaving the country could be used to spread rumors that Assad fled the country, and thus potentially destabilize the government and its people.

According to VNE