The Syrian president has been granted asylum in Russia, Kremlin sources say

FILE PHOTO: Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife Asma Assad are seen during a visit to Moscow's State Institute for Foreign Relations on January 25, 2005. ©  Salah Malkawi / Getty Images

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been granted asylum in Russia and is currently in Moscow with his family, Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS reported on Sunday, citing Kremlin sources. The development comes as Syrian militants seized control of Damascus, effectively ending Assad’s 24-year rule.

The swift capture of the Syrian capital marks the culmination of a large-scale offensive launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Led by a former Al-Qaeda commander and previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, the group initiated a surprise offensive from the opposition-held province of Idlib in northern Syria last week. Jihadists had previously driven the Syrian Army from the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Al-Qusayr at the Lebanese border before advancing into Damascus.

“Assad, along with members of his family, has arrived in Moscow. Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds,” a source told TASS.

Moscow has called for the resumption of UN-led negotiations to resolve the Syrian crisis, TASS reported. Leaders of the Syrian armed opposition have assured the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions operating in Syria, according to Kremlin officials as cited by RIA.