Russian president Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, they discussed the political situation in the republic, the fight against international terrorism, as well as issues of bilateral, including humanitarian cooperation. Information about the meeting, which took place on September 13, was published on the website of the Russian president on Tuesday.
At the beginning of the meeting, Putin said he was very happy to welcome al-Assad to Moscow and congratulated him on his birthday on September 11 and "on the very good result of the presidential elections" (which were held on May 26, al-Assad received the support of more than 95% of voters).
"The results [of the elections] show that people trust you and, despite all the difficulties of previous years and the tragedies of previous years, they still associate the process of recovery and return to normal life with you," Putin said, referring to al-Assad.
On the situation in Syria
The Russian president reminded that the joint efforts of the two countries managed to liberate the main territory of Syria from terrorists (the legitimate government currently controls more than 90% of the territory), refugees are actively returning to the liberated areas and people are restoring their homes. According to Putin, al-Assad is also doing a lot to establish a dialogue with his political opponents. The Russian president expressed his hope that this process will continue.
However, Putin described as a problem the presence of foreign military forces in some territories of Syria without a UN decision and without al-Assad's sanctions. According to the Russian leader, this prevents the republic's authorities from "making maximum efforts to consolidate the country".
For his part, al-Assad noted that the normalization of life in Syria was facilitated, among other things, by the political events held in Sochi and in Nur-Sultan. "I would like to point out the fact that the political processes that we carried out have stopped for about three years now. There are, of course, certain reasons for this. There are certain states that are destructive in every way to the possibility of political processes," the Syrian president explained.
He also thanked Putin for his help and the work of the Russian foreign ministry. Al-Assad said that the actions of the two countries as a whole "have made a huge contribution to the protection of all mankind" from terrorism.
Russian-Syrian cooperation
Russian and Syrian leaders also paid much attention to the topic of humanitarian cooperation and the joint fight against coronavirus infection. Putin reminded the audience that the first supplies of Russian vaccines against coronavirus Sputnik V (registered in Syria in February) and Sputnik Lite were delivered to Syria. Al-Assad also thanked the Russian president for the support provided, "whether it is drugs that help treat or prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, as well as all other assistance, including food and everything else Russia has provided to Syria".
In addition, the presidents touched on bilateral economic cooperation. "In the first half of this year, the volume of trade has increased 3.5 times," Putin specified in this regard.
Putin and al-Assad meetings
Putin's previous meeting with al-Assad took place in November 2020, due to the situation with the coronavirus it was held via videoconference. The parties discussed the situation in Syria, including the fight against terrorism and the return of refugees.
Putin last visited the country in January 2020. The Russian president visited Damascus, where he visited the command post of the Russian armed forces grouping in Syria. He also heard military reports on the situation in different regions of the republic. During that trip, the previous face-to-face meeting of the two leaders also took place.
In addition, the Russian and Syrian presidents periodically hold phone conversations. According to the Kremlin, the last such conversation took place in late April at the initiative of the Syrian side.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS