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giving these former race dogs a real chance to win. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way . life well planned. erika: i love seeing interns succeed, i love seeing them come back and join the engagement teams and seeing where they go from there, i get to watch their personal growth, it makes my heart happy. (laughs) announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" >> hello, i'm lewis vaughan jones. you are watching "the context" on bbc news. >> very much still in the dark

grip of the past era and the current horrors have to be dealt with if they want toove forward. >> there is a curfew from 5:00 in the evening until 5:00 in the morning but in the center of the city it was still a second day of celebrations. >> vladimir putin invested heavily in a side, determined to keep him in power. in the end, it wasn't enough. but what to do about hts when they are prescribed terrorist organization? ♪ lewis: in syria, a side is gone, decades of dictatorship are er. we look at what serious opposition rebels will do now with analysis from damascus, washington, dc, and westminster. also on the program, chcellor rachel reeves meet u.k. finance ministers and promises to reset the relationship between britain and the eu.

google shows off its quantum computer chip which takes five minutes to solve a problem today fastest computer would take 10 years to crack. hopefully we will explain. welcome to the program. first we start in syria where the latest reports say the prime minister has agreed to hand over power to the syrian rebels. we are working toward following a transitional government report. a figure from hts will be appointed as the interim prime minister. developments, day after they captured the capital damascus and ousted bashar al-assad. president prime minister -- assad's prime minister says that they are organizing the transfer. fighters currently occupy public buildings. syrians have been pouring back

into the country in their thousands from neighboring lebanon and jordan, while some have been exiled. lebanon has made it harder for syrian nationals to reenter. we start our coverage with this report from bbc who is in damascus, who sent this update from inside assad's notorious prison. >> this is bashar al-assad's syria, thousands of them here. one of them, one of the worst in the middle east, not just syria. they are looking for their beloved ones. they don't know if they are still alive or killed or tortured. >> my son, son, sisters have been detained for 10 years. we do not know anything.

>> we believe that there is something near the kitchen with hidden doors. they don't know where it is, they don't have any idea how to get in. >> we urge the prison guards that were here to come back, tell us how we can get there. >> this is the white helmet organization who rode here from aleppo and other provinces to help the fight. >> we cannot confirm the presence of more detainees. we are doing what we can through the help of search dogs,

available tools, and previous detainees. lewis: our correspondent is also in damascus and she gave us the latest on the situation there. >> we hurts some massive explosions, airstrikes believed to be carried out by the israeli air force. we don't have confirmation yet but this is a city that feels very chaotic as of now. politically there is a vacuum. we know the leader of hayat tahrir al-sham, abu mohammed al-jolani has met with the interim prime minister but there are no clear details about the way forward exactly. in the day, we went to some government buildings, police stations in the city to see what was exactly happening there. outside we found members of hts, who said they were deployed this morning, that they had come in from idlib, a region that has long been secured by hts, to secure the city, to ensure there is no looting or vandalism, some of which we saw on sunday.

there is a curfew from 5:00 in the evening until 5:00 in the morning, butn the central square of the city, it was still very much a second day of celebrations. hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians coming in cars, families packed in honking their horns, singing, cheering, clapping. just continuously a barrage of celebratory gunfire literally to the extent where all the roads around the square were littered with spent bullets. lewis: to get more analysis now, we can speak to a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies. thank you for coming on the program. >> thank you for having me. lewis: we will get into the details in a moment. could i first get youheadline thought on where the country stands right now? >> the country is free of the assad regime, a murderous regime

which is ruled from damascus for over half a century now. most unfortunately, as was seen in the segments in the videos that you showed her there, this is yet another transitional phase of the syrian civil war which has really engulfed the country for more than a decade. lewis: how did we get here? i want to do two things if we can. one, to look at what happens now and next, but before we do, i look at some of the countries nearbynd what has happened. can we start with turkey? what exactly has happened to lead us to where we are? >> absolutely. in turkey, where president erdogan is, major nato country but also a country that has provided laissez passe to some islamist, al qaeda fighters. turkey backs the syrian national army which is currently fighting with mostly but not exclusively

kurdish forces which are backed by the u.s. turkey's initial goal with this intervention into syria was to get rid of the assad regime but that morphed into preventing kurdish candidates from growg and connecting and creating kurdish autonomous zones on the turkish southern border. turkey plays a significant military and political role. if we remember four years ago, turkiye helped broker that cease fire and that it was the regime that failed, one of the things that paved the way for the rise in operations of hts and other groups against damascus. lewis: hugely significant contributing factor. let's look at the other country here, iran. what do you make of them? >> iran and the assad regime go back many years. the islamic republic of iran has only had one state partner

throughout its 45 year existence in the middle east and that has been the assad family in damascus and syria. bashar's father bailed out his son over the past 13 years, but as you just saw, that government crumbled within two weeks with the newest hts-ledffensive. lest we forget how syria also occupies a key role in iran's axis of resistance. this is the consolation of proxy and partner forces that the regime has, that it marshals against israel, arab states, as well as against u.s. positions. iranian officials have previously referred to syria as the long pole in the tent. the land bridge that iran has benefited from it, allowing it to be an eastern mediterranean power, armed hezbollah and proxy, has been cut with this fall in damascus. lewis: you have outlined clearly

some of the international undercurrents that have swept us to this position where we are now. let's bring it up to date to right now. what have you heard about the political situation that gives you any nudge about how this can play out politically? >> politically it's always interesting when the guns stop firing and the people start speaking in the pens start writing. once conflicts emerge between the hts and millions of syrians who are neither defined by mosque nor military, who wanted secular democratic government, touched off this movement more than a decade ago. the question is how will their voices be heard when you look at the armed opposition? will there be space for them? room for cautious optimism, the fact that the traditional council, government talked about territorial integrity. many of the neighboring countries had worried about a balkanization or fracturing of syria. in the short term right now, we

are looking at how you can get these multiple voices to actually confirm and live up to that, which they have written on paper before. lewis: is it the reality on the ground, which of the groups on the ground have the most weapons, resources, power as of now, in the days ahead actually get to shape the future? >> that is the case with most revolutions, yes. also the case of which of these backers benefit from some degree of foreign intervention or support. for example, hts is still sanctioned by the u.s., there is still a warrant on the head of that group, mr. al-jolani, several million dollar bounty from the u.s. at the same time, the u.s. has not targeted him. if you look at history of drone strikes or other terror linked forces. who knows exactly what the kaleidoscope of syrian domestic armed groups will look like when talking about foreign intervention or foreign support in the short term. lewis: thank you for coming on

the program. let's get some of the political reaction in the u.k. we will speak to our political correspondent ian watson. what is the government saying? >> the government has been seeing two slightly different things. the main message coming from the foreign secretary and the prime minister himself, who is in the middle east currently in saudi arabia. quite simply that there will be no rush, no imminent move to try and take out hts, now the leading force in syria, off of a list of prescribed organizations, terrorist groups. it is absolutely an essential step to do this if the government wants to engage directly with hts over the future of syria. at the moment, what downing street is saying, the main focus is to keep civilians safe, get guarantees to the rights of

minorities being protected, and in addition, putting aid into syria where it is needed, 11 million pounds worth of aid through existing agencies. of them a bit of confusion because another cabinet minister earlier in the day suggested there might be a relatively swift decision on whether to de-prescribe hts, we don't describe them as a terrorist organization, in order to come in effect, kickstart this political process, which keir starmer and the prime minister would like to see. that said, the message this evening from the government, they must judge hts by their actions. they want to see what they do in practice rather than simply accept at face value their assurances that the people of syria will be protected and the rights of minorities will be respected. that is what they are doing

tonight. there has been another development today, which is that some countries, because the assad regime has fallen, have decided they are no longer accepting refugees from syria. certainly here, the home office, in charge of immigration, has decided to pause any assignment applications from syria at the moment for two reasons. not just the fall of the regime, but whether anybody associated with that regime would try to get into the country. emphasizg they have already sanctioned more than 300 people associated with the regime. under no circumstances would they be allowed into the u.k. that underlines how rapidly this situation is changing, and to some extent, politicians are rushing to keep up. lewis: can we go back tohe first point you were making, you went to it, but to triple underlying it, this change in definition, prescribed group,

not prescribed. describe why this sounds slightly academic and slightly linguistic but why it matters so much? >> it matters a great deal because what keir starmer said all along, unexpectedly, this swift advance took place by hts and other rebel groups. assad fled to russia. he said he wants to see a political process, political solution to determine any future, how syria is governed. indeed, during that level of engagement, to look at the promisesrom the rebel groups to respect the different religions, ethnic backgrounds of some of the people in syria, would indeed happen in practice. in order to do that, for the u.k. to engage, they cannot engage directly with an organization that it regards as a terrorist organization, in the jargon, prescribed organization.

in order to do so, if hts is now the leading force in syria, they would have to reach a decision to take them off the list of prescribed organizations to have that kind of level of engagement. they seem to be doing this and one step removed from what other allies in the region, who they themselves may be getting in touch with hts. if the british government wants to get involved, this is the change that has to be made, which is why there is some suggestion it may happen swiftly. however, there is another feeling that our government would want to work in lockstep with our allies, not to run too far ahead of themselves. lewis: you are struggling. i am going to jump in. have a glass of water. >> any suggestion that this may happen quickly has been doused. lewis: thank you very much.

our political correspondent, iain watson. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. ♪

lewis: this is bbc news. we will continue with the latest on syria, specifically a bashar al-assad, syria's dispose leader. the kremlin refused to say where he was, adng there were no plans for a meeting between him and president putin. yesterday, russian state media reported he was in moscow and was granted asylum. i'm a russian editor stephen rosenberg has the story. >> at the syrian embassy in moscow, it was all change. up went the flag of the syrian rebels to mark the ousting of bashar al-assad. ironically, syria's leader had fled to russia, although his exact whereabouts are unknown. the man who has reportedly given

assad asylum was giving out medals to russian soldiers who fought in ukraine. from vlamir putin, no mention of syria. events there are a huge blow to the kremlin. that is because, for nearly a decade, president putin had poured resources into keeping assad in power. he became moscow's man in the middle east. shored up by russian firepower. i better stop there because it's about to get very loud indeed. a few years ago, we visited the russian airbase in syria. fighter jets were conducting airstrikes on rebel positions. russian bases in syria gave it a foothold in the eastern mediterranean. but without assad, will it lose that? today, i asked president putin's spokesperson what would happen

to its basis. dimitri told me that would be discussed with syria's new leaders. losing its staunchest ally in the middle east is painful for the kremlin. vladimir putin had invested heavily in assad, determined to keep and empower -- him in power. in the end, it wasn't enough. the russian public, too, has questions about the last few days. i was surprise our military didn't step in to help syria's army, alexander says. but it is good assad is in moscow and that we don't abandon our guys. >> of course it would have been better if the situation had turned out differently. but things don't always go the way you want them to. vladimir putin is used to getting his own way. he hasn't in syria. lewis: let's speak now to a

senior fellow, director at the future dhs project at the atlantic council thank you for coming on the program. can we start first of all with vladimir putin and bashar al-assad, and what you make about what is happening there right now? >> as your report just said, putin has suffered a major blow. i imagine right now russian intelligence and security leaders are trying to figure out how they might recer from it. it wouldn't surprise me if there were caches of cash, we are going to find out if russia sees syria's new leaders as a source of instability or support. i think it will likely be the former. lewis: why the former? >> the ft that the russian government propped up assad will not be lost on the leaders of the syrian rebel alliance, that has now taken baghdad.

in particular, they would be worried that russia might be a fifth column to try to stir up opposition to their role in some number of months. russia has ties mainly into the far west of syria, the minority that assad used to keep him in power, was deeply resented by syria's other ethnic and religious groups. there is certainly no love lost between those who backed assad and those who resisted it, especially the islamist groups that are now very much present in damascus today. lewis: talk us through the view from washington, what the calculations are being made. >> in washington, we are about to have a transition of power. president biden address the american people on sunday and said what everyone, i think,

expectedim to say. we are going to focus on keeping the so-called islamic state from staging a comeback, taking advantage of this power vacuum in damascus. we are going to be providing humanitarian aid. those are pretty much what you would expect. beyond that, washington will be looking to countries that are much closer to syria to take the lead, especially turkiye, which has extensive ties with the syrian opposition including the so-called syrian national army, which was a number of groups that turkiye have been packing for years. the united states also has excellent security cooperation with jordan. that will play an increasingly important role. the united states also wants to see syria stop its meddling in lebanon. the new incoming administration, donald trump, certainly doesn't

want to see u.s. troops involved militarily more than they are right now with 900 soldiers in northeast syria keeping an eye on isis. but i think you will see the trump administration take an interest in making sure iran never gains a foothold in damascus again. that much is likely to be very clear in trump administration policy. lewis: how, in practical terms, could that kind of influence be exerted? if we go to the ground now in damascus, what will determine what happens over the days and weeks ahead, and who takes control? >> it sounds like a simple answer but it is true. it is who controls the guns and the money. hayat tahrir al-sham, which is on the terrace to list here in the u.s. and elsewhere, was ruthless and efficient without a controlled money and power in the idlib province that it

dominated for almost a decade. but governing syria is a whole different story. i suspect there will be a great deal of influence exerted by turkiye and i think by other countries who will have an interest in making sure that syria does not become a failed state that will give groups like isis a chance to stage a comeback. lewis: i will not ask you for ridiculous predictions, but in your determination, are there solid grounds to think that a failed state that you were just talking about can be avoided? oh, yes -- >> ph,yes. lessons to learn.age of good but it really will come down to the fact that the united states is not going to, nor should it

try to call the shots in syria. we and britain, european countries have a huge stake in the outcome. what i imagine you will see a lot of it is closer cooperati with turkey and jordan, some of the gulf arab states, egypt, as well, all of whom have an interest in syria not being a failed state. so there are no shortage of friends that those of us in the west have who want to see syria turn out well. there are some who don't want it to turn out well and that is the danger. lewis: thank you for coming on the program. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation.

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