AFP

MOSCOW VLADIMIR Putin on Wednesday rejected the idea of Russia offering Syrian President Bashar al Assad asylum as a way of helping put an end to nearly a year of bloodshed in its Sovietera ally.

“We are not even discussing this question,” news agencies quoted Putin as telling Kremlin reporters.

Several countries have in recent weeks aired the possibility of offering the Syrian strongman asylum in order to help end nearly 12 months of violence that the opposition says has claimed nearly 8,500 lives.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said last month that his country was ready to accept both Assad and his family and offer them immunity from prosecution.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul has also said he was ready to consider the request if made.

Russia enjoys the strongest link to the Assad government of all the major powers and has used its veto at the UN Security Council to block resolutions condemning Damascus for its use of force.

Assad held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in February and later received the lower house of parliament’s foreign affairs chief Alexei Pushkov amid efforts by Moscow to push the two sides towards talks.

Pushkov later said he saw no indication the Syrian president was ready to step down.

The issue of Assad’s resignation was initially raised in Russia in October by outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev.

He said at the time that Assad would have to resign should he fail to pursue reforms — comments that were later picked up by other senior officials dealing with Syrian diplomacy.

Medvedev had earlier had one of his few public clashes with Putin over the latter’s angry condemnation of the NATO-led campaign against Russia’s other regional ally Libya.

But Russia’s position never moved any closer to that of the West on the crisis and Putin on Wednesday denied any serious foreign policy disagreement among Russia’s leaders.

“We each have our own opinions, of course. But overall, on key issues of principle, there is consensus among us,” said Putin.

“I doubt that there will be any changes on that score.”