Russia Denies Report that Assad’s Wife Wants Divorce

By: BBC

The British-born wife of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has not filed for divorce, a Kremlin spokesman has said.

Reports in Turkish media suggested that Asma al-Assad wanted to end her marriage and leave Russia, where she and her husband were granted asylum after a rebel coalition overthrew the former president’s regime and took control of Damascus.

Asked about the reports in a press conference call, Dmitry Peskov said, “No, they do not correspond to the facts.”

He also denied reports that Assad had been detained in Moscow and that his assets had been frozen.

Russia was a major ally of the Assad regime and provided military support during the civil war.

But reports in Turkish media on Sunday suggested that Assad and his wife were living under tight restrictions in the Russian capital, and that Mrs Assad had filed for divorce so he could return to London.

Ms Assad has both Syrian and British citizenship, but the British foreign secretary previously said she would not be allowed to return to the UK.

Speaking in parliament earlier this month, David Lammy said: “I want it to be confirmed that he is a sanctioned person and is not wanted in the UK.”

He added that he would do “everything in my power” to ensure no member of the Assad family “finds a place in the UK”.

In a statement attributed to Bashar al-Assad last week, he said he never intended to flee Syria, but was flown from a Russian military base at Moscow’s request.