MOSCOW: Russia has made no agreement to grant Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asylum and is "not even thinking about" doing so, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.

The remarks fell short of a statement that Russia would not consider taking in Assad but were among Moscow's strongest indications yet that it is not planning to do so.

"We have said more than once publicly that we are not even thinking about this," Lavrov told reporters when asked about media reports Russia was ready to offer Assad asylum. (Reuters)