That Decision Was Made by Putin: Peskov

The decision to grant asylum to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family in Russia was made by Vladimir Putin. This was announced during a press briefing by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president.

Thus, he confirmed that following the collapse of his regime in Syria on December 8, Assad fled to Moscow. This was reported by an unnamed source from the Kremlin to state media the day before.

At the same time, Peskov added that he has nothing to say to reporters about Assad's whereabouts and that a meeting with him is not included in Putin's official schedule. He also noted that it is “absolutely unnecessary” for the Kremlin to make an official statement regarding granting asylum to Assad in Russia. “We don't have to do that,” he said.