MOSCOW -- Bashar al-Assad has left Syria and resigned as the country's President while calling for a peaceful transfer of power, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

"After negotiations with some of the participants in the armed conflict within the Arab Syrian Republic, Bashar al-Assad decided to resign as president and leave the country, while instructing for a peaceful transfer of power," said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry added that Russia did not participate in any talks related to a transfer of power.