Russia has granted asylum to Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, according to a Saudi media outlet, cited by the Bulgarian news agency Focus.

A US intelligence source has revealed that Russia had proposed to Assad to withdraw from power and flee on one of its navy ships in the Mediterranean.

According to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth, Russia has made the proposal after realizing the US are firm on a military intervention in Syria which will lead to toppling Assad anyway.

The Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack – the deadliest single incident of the Syrian civil war and the world's worst use of chemical arms since Iraq's Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds in 1988 – has prompted the US to say it is considering a military action and to start seeking allies.

Russia, Assad's strongest ally, and China are blocking a UN Security Council resolution to intervene in Syria.