Exiled former Syrian leader Bashar Assad is in Moscow, Russian state media said Dec. 8 citing a source in the Kremlin.
Assad fled Syria after opposition forces stormed the capital, Damascus, early Sunday. He had been in power for almost 25 years, presiding over a bloody civil war during the latter half of his reign.
Russia’s TASS news service said Assad and members of his family, after arriving in Moscow, had been granted asylum by Russia on humanitarian grounds.
TASS also reported that Russia wants negotiations on the future of Syria to take place under the aegis of the U.N.
This article is being updated.