Difficult to Give Asylum to Assad: Putin

Putin said that the Syrian president had made mistakes since the conflict broke out in 2011.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, delivering a speech at a meeting in Moscow. (Photo: AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was premature to say whether Moscow would grant asylum to embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who had made “many mistakes”.

<p> We gave asylum to Mr Snowden in 2013, it was more difficult than giving it to Assad.</p>

<b>Vladimir Putin, </b><b>Russian President </b>

It was premature to discuss this, he added in an interview to a German mass -circulation daily Bild.

<p>First, one needs to give the Syrian people an opportunity to have their say. And I assure you that if this is done in a democratic way, then maybe he won’t have to go anywhere. And it does not matter whether he is president or not.</p>

Global powers are seeking to push the Syrian regime and opposition to the negotiating table in a bid to end the nearly five-year war that has killed 260,000 people.

Putin who launched a bombing campaign in the war-torn country on September 30 - appeared to defend Assad, although he acknowledged the Syrian president had made “many mistakes” since the conflict broke out in 2011.

<p> The unrest would not have escalated so quickly, if from the very beginning it had not been fuelled from abroad with huge amount of money, weapons and fighters. Assad is not seeking to annihilate his own population. He’s fighting those who have come to him with arms.</p>

The Kremlin strongman reiterated that the Russian military has also been helping the armed anti-Assad opposition. We support both the Assad army and the armed opposition. Some of them have already publicly announced this, some prefer to remain silent but the work is ongoing.