The decision to grant asylum to fugitive Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family was made by Vladimir Putin. This was stated at a briefing by Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
In this way, he effectively confirmed that after the fall of his regime in Syria on December 8, Assad flew to Moscow.
At the same time, Peskov added that he had nothing to say to journalists about Assad’s whereabouts, and that a meeting with him was not on Putin’s official schedule.
He also noted that the Kremlin “absolutely does not need” to make an official statement on granting Assad asylum in Russia.
Speaking about the situation in Syria in general, Peskov said that what happened there “surprised the whole world,” and the Kremlin “is no exception in this case.” According to Putin’s spokesman, Syria is facing “a very difficult period of instability.”