Assad reportedly offered exile in Russia
Washington Post columnist reports Assad may take refuge in Moscow as part of new diplomatic push
Joshua Davidovich is The Times of Israel's Deputy Editor

Embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad has been offered a safe haven by Russia, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported on Wednesday.
According to Ignatius’s column, $6 billion from the Syrian national reserves is rumored to have already been transferred to a bank in Moscow.
Should Assad and his family take refuge in Moscow, they would likely be able to avoid international prosecution for the bloody quelling of a year-long uprising in the country, Ignatius reports.
He did not source the reports on Assad being offered exile.
Iran has also reportedly offered Assad a place to escape to, according to the column. Assad was earlier offered exile in Qatar, according to emails leaked in March.
Moving Assad to Russia may go hand in hand with UN special envoy Kofi Annan’s new plan for Syria, which seeks to bring both Moscow and Tehran into the diplomatic fold in efforts to end fighting in the country.
Syria has been embroiled in a bloody uprising for over a year as Sunni rebels have attempted to wrest control of the country from Assad’s Alawite minority group.
Both Russia and Iran have been two of Assad’s staunchest allies, even as he has come under increasing international pressure for heavy-handed tactics in suppressing the rebellion, including indiscriminate shelling of towns and reportedly shooting members of opposition groups at point blank range.
On Wednesday, opposition groups reported some 100 people had been killed in two villages near the northeastern town of Hama, less than two weeks after 108 people were killed in Houla.Both towns are rebel strongholds.
Clashes were also reported in the capital Damascus and the coastal region of Latakia, as rebel groups went on the offensive.
Annan, appointed by the UN and Arab League to broker a ceasefire between Damascus and the rebels, is to brief the United Nations on the new diplomatic proposal this week.