The Kremlin has denied reports suggesting Ms Assad wants to divorce the former Syrian leader. (Getty Images: Huang Jingwen/Xinhua)
In short:
The Kremlin has rejected media reports suggesting Asma al-Assad wants a divorce and to leave Russia.
Turkish and Arabic media have reported Asma al-Assad had filed for divorce.
Ms Assad retains British citizenship, but officials have said she is not welcome in the UK.
Russia has rejected Turkish media reports suggesting Asma al-Assad, the British-born wife of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, wants a divorce and to leave Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also denied Turkish media reports which suggested former Syrian leader had been confined to Moscow and had his property assets frozen.
When asked whether the reports were true, Mr Peskov said: "They do not correspond to reality."
The Assad family were granted asylum in Russia after rebels took control of Damascus. (AP: Syrian Presidency/Facebook)
Turkish and Arabic media reported Ms Assad had filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family were granted asylum this month after rebels took control of Damascus following a lightning advance.
Although she retains British citizenship, UK officials have previously said Ms Assad is not welcome to return to London.
Earlier this month, British Foreign Minister David Lammy told parliament that Ms Assad was a sanctioned individual.
Controversial figure
Ms Assad was born in London and spent half of her life in the UK, with her cardiologist father and her retired diplomat mother still living in the capital city.
She met Mr Assad through her work as a London investment banker, before moving to Syria to marry him.
Throughout her time as Syria's first lady, Ms Assad proactively aimed to promote her image abroad as modern and transformative, with a controversial American Vogue profile in 2011 hailing her as "glamorous, young, and very chic".
A US Vogue magazine included a feature on Asma al-Assad in 2011. (Vogue)
But her reputation was tarnished when she stood by her husband's side through a crackdown on anti-government protests which shifted to a full-scale civil war in 2012.
Lavish lifestyle
The Assads were courted by the Wes, and met Queen Elizabeth in 2002 amid hopes they would reform Syria. (Reuters)
Ms Assad has been criticised for continuing to enjoy a lavish lifestyle, with leaked emails suggesting she continued to shop for designer goods throughout the conflict.
The United Nations estimates around 306,887 civilians died between March 2011 and March 2021.
How this brutal couple kept Syria in their grip
Photo shows A man and a woman walk down a blue carpet
Ms Assad sent a friend photos of jewel-encrusted Christian Louboutin high heels, offering to include an extra pair in her order.
Academics have said the war gave her an opportunity to solidify her authority, despite being initially sidelined by the Assad family.
In 2020, the US imposed sanctions on the former first lady and her family, with then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo describing her as "one of Syria's most notorious war profiteers".
Reuters/AFP
