Manama: Tunisia is ready to grant asylum to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad as part of a negotiated settlement to the Syrian crisis, President Moncef Marzouki said in an interview with a local daily.
La Presse, one of two dailies to publish in French in Tunisia, said that it would print the interview on Wednesday.
Marzouki on Friday said at the Friends of Syria conference in Tunis that a "political solution must be found, such as granting the Syrian president, his family and members of his regime judicial immunity and a place to seek refuge, which Russia could offer."
"Justice will not be served, but the life of the Syrians is more important than justice," he said.
However, the proposal that Russia give asylum to embattled President Al Assad prompted sharp criticism from a high-ranking Kremlin source.
"The Tunisian president should make proposals on behalf of his own country instead of calling on other countries to do anything," the source told journalists in Moscow. "Such proposals should be aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement of the internal Syrian crisis. Moreover, a number of Arab countries have already experienced the consequences of promoting democracy," the source said, quoted by Russian International News Agency, Ria Novosti.
Russia boycotted Friday's conference in Tunisia, which brought together representatives for more than 60 countries.
