The Kremlin has rejected reports that Bashar al-Assad’s British-born wife was seeking a divorce and wanted to return to Britain.
Russia also denied claims that the deposed Syrian ruler and Asma al-Assad, his wife, had been confined to Moscow and their property assets had been frozen by Russian authorities.
Asked if the reports were true, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said: “No they do not correspond to reality.”
Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that the former first lady of Syria had filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family were granted asylum this month after being ousted from power after 24 years by rebel forces.
Asma al-Assad, 48, was born to Syrian parents and grew up in Acton, West London. She moved to Syria in 2000 and married her husband, with whom she shares three children.
The reports suggested she wanted a divorce after expressing dissatisfaction with her new life in Moscow, and that she hoped to return to London for cancer treatment.
In May, it was revealed she had been diagnosed with leukemia, having previously been treated for breast cancer between 2018 to 2019.
UK passport
Asma al-Assad retains British citizenship, but David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said earlier this month she was no longer welcome in the country, implying she may soon lose her UK passport.
Mr Lammy told Parliament: “I want it confirmed that she’s a sanctioned individual and is not welcome here in the UK.”
“I will do everything I can in my power to ensure that none of that family find a place in the UK,” he added.
Asma al-Assad had her UK assets frozen in March 2012 amid growing protests against her husband’s rule, as part of an EU sanctions programme maintained by British governments since Brexit.
The Metropolitan Police in 2021 opened a preliminary investigation into allegations that she incited and aided war crimes committed by the Assad regime’s forces during Syria’s 13-year civil war.
In 2020, the US imposed sanctions on Asma al-Assad, her parents and two brothers, with Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state at the time, describing her as “one of Syria’s most notorious war profiteers”.
The UK has previously stripped citizens of their nationality for joining the Islamic State group, Bader Mousa Al-Saif, researcher at the Chatham House think tank, told AFP.
“If that could be happening to an unknown in an extremist camp, I think the same, if not more, [is warranted in] the case of Asma al-Assad,” he added.
On Monday Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, refused to rule out letting Asma al-Assad keep her UK citizenship.
When asked directly on the topic, she said: “We do not comment on individual cases,” before adding that asylum claims are under “constant review”.
The Home Office minister said it was “standard procedure” to deny protection for anyone “who has committed crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, [or] other serious crimes abroad”.
