KUALA LUMPUR: Syria's deposed president Bashar al-Assad and his family arrived in Moscow on Sunday, where Russia has offered them asylum, TASS reported.
Citing a Kremlin source, the report stated that humanitarian considerations guided Russia's decision.
"Russia has always advocated a political settlement to the Syrian crisis. We insist that UN-mediated talks be resumed," the source told the news agency.
The source also noted that Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions within Syrian territory.
After a period of relative calm, clashes between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups reignited on Nov 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo.
Over 10 days, opposition forces captured key cities, culminating in the fall of the capital, Damascus, on Sunday.
The rapid advance, bolstered by defecting military units, led to the collapse of the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war. - BERNAMA