HOMS (Syria), April 11. /TASS/. Russian MP Dmitry Sablin, who is coordinator of the State Duma group for ties with Syria’s parliament, rejected media reports that Syrian President Bashar Assad and his family have allegedly left the republic.
The Russian parliamentary delegation arrived in Syria on Wednesday and plans to hold meetings with the country’s leadership, businessmen and also carry out a number of humanitarian efforts.
"Syrian President Bashar Assad is in Damascus, we plan to meet with him, discuss the situation and back the people of Syria in their war on terror," Sablin, who is visiting Syria, told reporters.
The lawmaker recalled that he "has met with Assad several times, including in 2014, when the situation in Syria was much worse." "Then, Assad said he would never leave Syria and would share his people’s fate. His family is also now in Damascus with their people," the politician said.
Earlier, some Middle East media reports claimed that Assad and his family had been allegedly evacuated to Tehran amid possible military operations of the United States and other Western countries against Syria.