Russian officials have been forced to issue a statement after reports emerged suggesting the wife of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was seeking a divorce.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also rejected media reports suggesting Bashar al-Assad had been confined to Moscow and had assets frozen.

Reports from Turkish and British claimed that Asma al-Assad was encouraged by her mother to file for divorce because of poor conditions in Russia, coupled with a lack of adequate leukemia treatment