Russia has dismissed suggestions it was planning to offer political asylum to Syrian President Bashar al Assad and said two prominent opposition leaders were coming to Moscow for talks next week.

"It [the rumour of Russia granting asylum to Mr Assad] is either an attempt to mislead serious people dealing with foreign policy or a lack of understanding of Russia's position," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council agreed at talks last week that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the bloodshed there but left open the question of what part Mr Assad might play.

Mr Lavrov said the issue of political asylum for Mr Assad first came up during talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Berlin last month, adding that it was first raised by the German side.

Mr Lavrov told a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle: "Our delegation took it as a joke and responded also with a joke: Why don't you, Germans, take Mr Assad if he wants to go somewhere?"

He also said Abdelbasset Sida, the new leader of the main Syrian opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Council, and prominent opposition activist Michel Kilo would visit Moscow for talks next week.

Meanwhile, Iraq said it has "solid information" al Qaeda militants are crossing from Iraq into Syria to carry out attacks and has sent reinforcements to the border, the foreign minister said yesterday.

Hoshiyar Zebari said al Qaeda "operational officers" appeared to be moving through old smuggling routes carrying weapons.

"We have solid information and intelligence that members of al Qaeda terrorist networks have gone in the other direction, to Syria, to help, to liaise, to carry out terrorist attacks," he claimed.