"I think that the Russians at the moment are realizing that they are going to have to deal with a new Syria," Tabler, now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said. "It's going to be hard to deal with a new Syria when they are harboring, or possibly harboring the former president."

As countries make even informal offers of asylum to Assad, the United States continues to express what it believes is their responsibility to make sure that issues of Assad's accountability inside Syria are addressed.

"We've been quite clear publicly, and I would assume we've been equally clear privately," Deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on Wednesday.

But Assad's possible departure, while a welcome prospect to many in the international community, could open the door to even more instability in the country.

With the majority Sunni opposition enraged at the minority Alawite Assad regime for the many months of ruthless aerial and artillery strikes on civilians, analysts say his departure would likely hasten a scenario of revenge killings across the country on a much larger scale.

U.S. officials said they have long been planning for "the day after Assad" - such as training Jordanian troops to provide security. But for now, they just hope Syria will keep its chemical weapons under wraps.

In the end, Assad is still seen as having the vast support of his Alawite sect, that of the Iranian government, and with it, a ruthless ability to stay and fight to the end. Whether his inner core of support will ultimately see that as the best option, remains to be seen.

"The question is will his sect decide that President Assad has to leave as part of any transition in the country," Tabler said. "I think there is a real chance he will huddle along with his sect. The question is whether his sect will want to huddle with him or not."