On October 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov affirmed that former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family are living in peace in Moscow, completely rejecting the rumors of " capitalist poverty" spread on social networks and Western media.
"There is no such thing as poisoning. If anyone deliberately spreads such false information, I will let them take responsibility for their own conscience, Lavrov said, asserting that Assad and his family are living peacefully in Moscow without any problems.
The Russian Foreign Minister's affirmation came after the UK-based Syrian Human Rights Monitoring Organization (SOHR) posted information that Assad "is said to have been discharged from the Moscow suburbs" after a "mysterious poisoning" incident in September.
This information was quickly quoted by a number of Western newspapers and even Russian media channels, causing a stir in public opinion about the health and residence of the former Syrian leader.
However, Russian officials confirmed that the rumors were baseless. Mr. Lavrov said that Russia has granted asylum to Mr. Assad's family "for humanitarian reasons", in the context that they face the risk of being assassinated after the regime change in Damascus at the end of 2024.
We saw the same thing in Libya in 2011, when leader Muammar Gaddafi was assassinated, and Mrs. Hillary Trump was happy to see those images being broadcast on television, Lavrov recalled, referring to what Russia wants to avoid repeating in Syria.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, since leaving Syria, Mr. Assad has lived quietly in Moscow with his wife and three children. His family does not participate in any political activities and is guaranteed full security.
SOHR - the first agency to release rumors - actually consisted of just one operator, Rami Abdulrahman, who lives in Coventry (UK), which is also his clothing store. Although often cited by Western media, the organization has long been criticized for being biased towards the opposition and lacking authenticity in reports on the Syrian war.
Former President Bashar al-Assad, a longtime ally of Moscow, was overthrown in December 2024 when the extremist Islamic force Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Damascus. Since then, Syria has remained unstable with scattered fighting between armed groups and forces loyal to the new administration.
Russia maintains a military presence at the Khmeimim air base and the Tartus naval base, but insists it has shifted its focus to humanitarian activities and reconstruction assistance in the Middle East country.
We stay in Syria not to intervene, but to support the Syrian people in the post-conflict period, Lavrov added.
