Putin Grants Political Asylum to Assad, Kremlin Confirms

“Such decisions certainly can’t be made without the head of state,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “It was his decision.”

He said that Putin wasn’t planning to meet with Assad.

"As for Mr Assad's whereabouts, I've got nothing to tell you," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

In brief comments on the dramatic events in Syria over the last few days, Peskov admitted the Kremlin was taken by surprise.

Asked what would happen to Russia's bases, he said: "It is too early to say. This is a subject for discussion with whoever is going to be in power in Syria."

Syria's embassy in Moscow raised the opposition flag at the building on Dec. 9, with a spokesman saying the facility was operating normally.

Meanwhile, Syrian oppositions said they won't impose any religious dress code on women and vowed to guarantee personal freedom for everyone.

In a statement posted on social media, the insurgents' General Command said, “It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty.”

The U.N. human rights chief said that Assad and other top Syrian officials behind possible war crimes “should be brought to justice.”

Volker Turk also said any transition process in Syria should not be separated from the need for accountability for alleged war crimes that took place in its civil war that began in 2011, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions fleeing their homes.

 Israeli forces enter Syria after controlling Golan buffer zone

With the fall of the regime, Israel sent its ground forces beyond the demilitarized zone on the Syria-Israel border, marking the first Israeli entry into Syrian territory since the 1973 war.

The army argued that the move aimed to establish what it called defensive positions in the area to prevent infiltration of armed opposition groups.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also announced the collapse of a U.N.-monitored disengagement agreement, which established a buffer zone between Israel and Syria.

Israel’s top diplomat also confirmed that the army struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of “hostile actors.”

Gideon Saar also said that his country's military takeover of the buffer zone was a "limited and temporary step.”

According to the U.S media, Washington is also working with several other countries in the Middle East to prevent chemical weapons possessed by the Assad regime from falling “into the wrong hands.”

Source: Reuters