Longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has personally and independently decided to step down, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
“Withdrawing from the process of fulfilling the duties of head of state was al-Assad’s personal decision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media agencies.
Peskov declined to comment further on Moscow’s role following the dramatic end of al-Assad’s regime.
The former president and his family fled to Russia, where they were granted asylum, after a coalition of rebel groups swept through previously government-controlled areas of Syria in a rapid offensive and took control of the capital Damascus on Sunday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a long-time supporter of Al-Assad, decided to take in the family, Peskov said on Monday.
Putin has met al-Assad many times, but no meeting is planned this time, Peskov said.
Russian authorities have not disclosed al-Assad’s exact whereabouts.
