Russia could give asylum to Assad

Russia could give asylum to Syrian leader Bashar al Assad if he is forced to leave his country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Tuesday.

“It was surely more difficult to grant Mr Snowden asylum in Russia than it would be in the case of Assad,” Putin told Germany’s most popular tabloid, Bild, referring to former US intelligence worker turned whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who was given asylum in Russia in 2013.

Putin said it was too early to say whether Russia would have to shelter Assad, whose country has disintegrated in a civil war that has lasted almost five years.

“First the Syrian population has to be able to vote, and then we will see if Assad would have to leave his country if he loses the election,” Putin said. Russia has been a key backer of Assad and in September launched an air campaign backing up the Syrian leader’s overstretched army in its struggle against rebel groups and the IS.

In an apparent response to the interview, Syrian state news agency Sana quoted Assad praising the role played by Russia and Iran in Syria’s “fateful war against extremist terrorism.”

Photograph: Ria Novosti/Reuters