Russia FM denies reports of Bashar al-Assad been poisoned in Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday dismissed reports that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been the target of a poisoning attempt in Moscow, following speculation circulating in several Arab media outlets.

Speaking at a meeting with representatives of Arab media, Lavrov said Russia had granted asylum to Assad and his family “for purely humanitarian reasons,” adding that the former Syrian leader “faces no problems living in our capital, and there have been no cases of poisoning,” according to the Russian news agency Sputnik.

The remarks came after reports claimed that Assad had been hospitalized following an alleged assassination attempt involving poison. According to some of those reports, Assad was recently discharged from a hospital on the outskirts of Moscow, and his condition is said to be stable. Access to him during treatment was reportedly limited to his brother, Maher al-Assad, and former Secretary-General for Presidential Affairs, Mansour Azzam.

This is not the first time such claims have surfaced. Similar rumours of a poisoning attempt against Assad circulated in January 2025.

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