The decision to grant asylum to Bashar al-Assad comes amid concerns over Russian military bases in Syria
\n MOSCOW
\nKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that removed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was given asylum in Russia as he fled a lightning advance by opposition forces, saying the decision was made personally by President Vladimir Putin.
\n\u201cOf course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state. It is his [Putin\u2019s] decision,\u201d Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Monday. However, he declined to comment on al-Assad\u2019s specific whereabouts and said Putin was not planning to meet with him.
\n\u201cThe Russian authorities have granted political asylum,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow. \u201cWe see reports on our end that Russia has not abandoned the resigned Syrian president in such difficult circumstances. Al-Assad was allegedly evacuated by a Russian plane from the Russian airbase in Latakia.\u201d
\nShapovalova said it remained to be seen how the decision to grant the former leader asylum would affect Russia and its assets in Syria.
\n\u201cThe most important question is the fate of Russian military bases,\u201d namely a naval base in Tartous and an airbase in Hmeimim, Latakia, Shapovalova said.
\nOur reporter added that the Kremlin was taking precautions to ensure its personnel\u2019s safety but that incoming reports from Tartous suggested no imminent threat.
\nThe Kremlin said it was premature to say what the future would hold for Russia\u2019s military bases in Syria. \u201cThis is all a subject for discussion with those who will be in power in Syria,\u201d Peskov said.
\nThe Tartous facility is Russia\u2019s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, and Moscow has used Syria as a staging post to fly its military contractors in and out of countries in Africa.
\nSpeaking about the broader regional and international situation, the Kremlin spokesman added that he saw a turbulent time ahead with a high potential for conflict. \u201cWe see the situation around Ukraine, we see many contradictory statements in this regard, we see a growing conflict potential in other regions, we can say the burning Middle East,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The decision to grant asylum to Bashar al-Assad comes amid concerns over Russian military bases in Syria MOSCOW Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that removed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was given asylum in Russia as he fled a lightning advance by opposition forces, saying the decision was made personally by President Vladimir Putin. \u201cOf […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-448419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n