Russian state officials have denied claims circulating in the media that Asma al-Assad, the wife of deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, is seeking an end to her marriage
The British-born wife of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has not filed for divorce, a spokesperson for the Kremlin has announced. Reports circulating widely in Turkish media had suggested that Asma al-Assad was seeking an end to her marriage to the deposed Syrian leader, and intended to flee Russia where she and her husband were granted asylum following the fall of the president’s regime in Syria.
While taking part in a news conference call, Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation told reporters: “No, they do not correspond to reality.” He also went on to deny reports that Assad had been restricted to staying in Moscow or that his property assets had been frozen, reports the BBC.
Russia had long been a staunch ally of the Assad regime and offered large amounts of military support during the civil war beginning in September 2015, when at the request of Bashar al-Assad, the regime sought assistance in fighting the Syrian opposition and Islamic State.
READ MORE: Kate Middleton’s Christmas Day appearance will be ‘huge moment’ after ‘brutal’ year
However, following the victory of a rebel coalition which overthrew the former president earlier month, reports had begun to circulate that the Assads were living under severe restrictions in the Russian capital. Similar reports in the Turkish media also suggested that the former first lady had filed for divorce and wanted to return home to London.
Mrs Assad holds dual citizenship, and is both a Syrian and British national, however, the UK foreign secretary David Lammy has staunchly opposed her return and even argued in Parliament that she would not be permitted to return to the country.
“I want it confirmed that she’s a sanctioned individual and is not welcome here in the UK,” he told MPs. He also added he would do “everything I can in my power” to ensure no member of the Assad family “finds a place in the UK”.
According to a statement attributed to Bashar al-Assad last week, the former Syrian president never intended to flee Syria, but had instead been airlifted from a Russian military base at Moscow’s request.
Asma al-Assad, 49, was born in the UK to Syrian parents in 1975 and spent the early portion of her life growing up in Acton, West London. However, she later swapped British life for Syria in 2000, when at the age of 25 she married her husband just months after he has succeeded his father as the country’s president.
Despite her high ranking role as the first lady, Asma al-Assad has largely shied away from the public spotlight during her 24 years in the position, sparking much curiosity from western commentators, including Vogue magazine, which in 2011 even controversially referred to her as a “rose in the desert” and suggested she was “the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies”. The article was later removed.
She was also widely criticised for failing to speak out publicly amid the civil war, despite her husband’s violent repression of pro-democracy campaigners. Around half a million people lost their lives in the conflict, with her husband accused of using chemical warfare against civilians.
In 2016 she famously rejected an offer of safe passage to leave war-torn Syria, when she told Russian-state TV, that she had chosen to stand beside her husband instead and remain in the country. However her stay was far from easy, as she was later diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, and earlier this year was diagnosed with Leukaemia forcing her to step away from the public spotlight.
A statement released in May said she would “temporarily withdraw” from public engagements.
