Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is in Moscow on an official visit, has told his Russian counterpart that the trip heralds a new stage in Syria-Russia relations.
Faraan: “We are satisfied with the performance of the Russian-Syrian [intergovernmental] commission. My visit today will open up a new stage in relations between our countries in all areas,” TASS quoted Assad as saying in a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The Syrian president also reiterated his government’s support for Russia in the military conflict in Ukraine, saying Moscow is fighting “old and new Nazis” in Ukraine, which he said are being supported by the West. Elsewhere in his remarks, Assad also thanked Russia for providing Damascus with humanitarian aid following the recent quakes in the Arab country.
“I would like to thank ministries and agencies of the Russian Federation that helped in elimination of the aftermath of the earthquakes. Thanks to their involvement, we were able to significantly reduce the number of victims and the scale of damage,” the Syrian leader said.
Putin, for his part, said the two countries are in constant contact, lauding their relations as “developing.” The Russian leader also hailed the two countries’ anti-terror cooperation and its “significant results” in the fight against international terrorism. “Thanks to our joint efforts and the decisive contribution of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, significant results have been achieved in the fight against international terrorism,” Putin said.
The Russian president noted that those results had provided “an opportunity for stabilizing the socio-economic and domestic political situation.” Putin also expressed sympathy with the Syrian nation over the recent devastating quakes that rocked the country, describing it as a “catastrophe.”
