Russian MP urges granting citizenship to ousted Syrian president

Russian MP Alexey Zhuravlev has stated that Russian citizenship must be granted to Bashar al-Assad, the ousted president of Syria, despite the negative views surrounding him. 

In a post on his Telegram channel, Zhuravlev argued that Assad had done a lot for Russia, Caliber.Az reports. 

He pointed out that around 700,000 people receive Russian passports every year, most of whom are not outstanding individuals. The politician also stressed that Russia, unlike the US, treats its allies with humanity.

"If Viktor Yanukovych [the Ukrainian ex-president] was able to obtain Russian citizenship, then why not give it to Assad as well?" Zhuravlev added.

On November 27, armed opposition groups launched a large-scale offensive against Syrian army positions in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces. By the evening of December 7, they had captured several major cities (Aleppo, Hama, Daraa, and Homs), and on December 8, they entered Damascus, with Syrian government forces withdrawing from the city.

Syrian government leader Muhammad Ghazi al-Jalali expressed readiness for a peaceful transfer of power in the country. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Bashar al-Assad stepped down as president of Syria and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful handover of power.

Notably, according to Russian state media, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow as opposition forces took control of Syria's capital, and was granted asylum by Russia on humanitarian grounds.

The decision to grant asylum to Assad and his family was made personally by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

By Naila Huseynova