Russia not considering sheltering Assad – Putin

Russia is not considering providing political asylum to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Prime Minister and president-elect Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. “This issue has not been discussed,” Putin said during a news conference in Moscow when asked to comment on Tunisian President Munsaf al-Marzuki’s recent suggestion that Russia could help resolve the Syrian crisis by granting shelter to the embattled Syrian president. In late February, commenting on the Syrian unrest during a meeting of the "Friends of Syria" group in Tunisia, al-Marzuki said: “A political solution must be found, such as granting the Syrian president, his family and members of his regime judicial immunity and a place to seek refuge, which Russia could offer.” "Justice will not be served,” he added, “but the life of Syrians is more important than justice.” Russia has been seen in the West as the staunchest supporter of the Assad regime as it has used its veto right in the UN Security Council to block a resolution calling on Assad to immediately end violence against protesters and launch dialogue with opposition groups. Moscow insists that both the government and “armed terrorist gangs” operating in Syria should be held responsible for the unrest, warning against any attempts by foreign nations to interfere in Syria’s domestic affairs. However, Russia has backed calls for humanitarian aid to be allowed to Syrian areas hit by the violence, which has claimed more than 7,500 lives, according to UN estimates.