Syria crisis: Russia grants asylum to Assad and his/her family, calls for UN-mediated talks

Following the political crisis in Syria, Russia has granted asylum to Bashar al-Assad and his/her family, TASS reported, citing a Kremlin source.

The situation in Syria remains a focal point for all neighboring countries after Syrian rebels entered the capital Damascus on Sunday, forcing Assad to flee, ending his/her more than two-decade rule in the country .

The source confirmed that Assad and his/her family have arrived in Moscow and that Russia has granted them asylum, motivated by “humanitarian considerations”.

“Russia has always spoken in favor of a political solution to the Syrian crisis. We insist that UN-mediated talks be resumed,” the source said, as reported by the Russian news agency.

“Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions on Syrian territory,” the source said, TASS reports.

In particular, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday expressed extreme concern over the events taking place in Syria and strongly appealed to all parties involved in the negotiations to abandon violence and resolve all issues by political means.

Additionally, the ministry said that Bashar al-Assad has abdicated and left the country, directing a peaceful transfer of power.

“We are following the dramatic events in Syria with extreme concern. As a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict in the SAR, he/she decided to resign the presidency and leave the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power. Russia did not participate in these negotiations. At the same time, we appeal to all parties involved to abandon the use of violence and resolve all governance issues by political means,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“In this regard, the Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition. “We call for respecting the opinions of all ethnic-confessional forces of Syrian society, and support efforts to establish an inclusive political process on the basis of the unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” the statement said. Has gone.

In particular, the civil war in the country, which had been dormant for some years, resurfaced and within a few weeks, Syrian rebel groups captured several major cities, such as Aleppo, Homs and Daraa, before taking unopposed control of Damascus. Did it. Nearly six decades of autocratic rule by the Assad family came to an end on Sunday.

The development came hours after rebels claimed to have captured Syria’s third-largest city, Homs, in the north of the country.

According to Reuters, Hadi al-Bahra Syrian, the head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad, said that Damascus is now “without Bashar al-Assad”. This comes after Syrian rebels claimed to have captured Damascus.

“The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled,” the armed opposition said in a statement.