Bashar Assad's wife seriously ill in Moscow

Asma al-Assad, the wife of deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, is seriously ill with leukemia in Moscow, where she remains in isolation with a 50% chance of survival, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The London newspaper, citing sources in direct contact with the family, says that the leukaemia she was reported to be suffering from last May has returned after a period of remission, and Asma Al Assad, a British-Syrian, “is staying away from other people to avoid infection”.

Her father, cardiologist Fawaz Akhras, has been caring for her before and after her arrival in the Russian capital, where the Assads took refuge after the fall of the Syrian regime. Sources say he is “heartbroken”, according to the Telegraph.

Asma, 49, who was born and raised in the UK, was previously treated for breast cancer, from which she was said to be cured in August 2019.

In recent days, rumours have circulated that the wife of the deposed dictator wanted to return to London for treatment and to divorce her husband, which the Kremlin has apparently denied.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has made it clear that he will not be allowed into the country.

"I want to confirm that he is a sanctioned person and is not welcome in the United Kingdom," he said in an appearance in the House of Commons following the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8, after 14 years in power. EFE