Al-Assad safe in Russia, not to be extradited: Russian senior diplomat

Moscow (The Uttam Hindu): Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad, who has been granted asylum, is now safe in Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said. "In such a situation it would be very wrong for me to elaborate on what happened and how it was resolved, but he is secured," local RIA news agency reported, citing Ryabkov. Commenting on the possibility of the extradition of al-Assad, the Russian diplomat noted that Russia is not a party to the International Criminal Court Rome Statute, Xinhua news agency reported. Syrian militant groups waged a major offensive from northern Syria since the end of November, swept southwards through government-held areas, and captured the capital Damascus within 12 days. Following the offensive, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government collapsed on Sunday. Al-Assad resigned and went to Russia for asylum.