The decision to grant Bashar al-Assad and his family asylum in Russia was made personally by Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov said the Kremlin was not obliged to make an official statement about Assad's asylum in Russia and did not reveal the Syrian dictator's current whereabouts.
Meanwhile, international media are talking about a cold reception in Moscow, after Peskov said that no meeting with Assad is planned.
The rhetoric of Russian authorities and state media about the situation in Syria has changed rapidly in recent days.
Initially, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the rebels "terrorists," but on Sunday the Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling them "the opposition."
State television also said that Russia fulfilled its obligations to Assad, but must now focus on its own security.