Bashar al-Assad and his family arrived in Moscow on Sunday (8), after their government was toppled by a radical Islamic rebel offensive in Syria.
According to Kremlin sources cited by Russian news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti, Russia, a key ally of Assad, granted asylum to the former Syrian president for humanitarian reasons.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin reported that Syrian armed opposition leaders, now in control of the country, have ensured the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions in the region.
The offensive that ousted Assad ended years of Baath regime rule and introduced a new scenario in the Syrian conflict, with Russia seeking to maintain its influence in the region despite the fall of its ally.