The Syrian presidency said in a statement on Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad met with his Russian counterpart in the Russian city of Sochi, where they discussed bilateral relations and the situation in Syria.
The Russian President said to his Syrian counterpart: I am very happy to receive you in Russia, and first of all I congratulate you on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan and I congratulate you on the great successes achieved by the Syrian Arab Army in the war against terrorism. Thanks to the efforts of Syrian soldiers, very important steps have been achieved in the recent period to strengthen the legitimate authority in the country, and terrorists have been eliminated in important areas of Syria, which paved the way for the reconstruction of the country’s infrastructure after the expulsion of terrorists and the end of the threat to the capital, Damascus.
Vladimir Putin added: Thanks to these military successes, additional conditions have been created for the resumption of the full-fledged political process. Significant progress has been made within the framework of the Astana process, and clear progress was also made during the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi. Now we can take the next steps together. The desired goal now is to rebuild the economy and provide humanitarian assistance to the population in need.You know, we are in contact with all parties involved in this complex process, including the United Nations and UN envoy Mr. de Mistura. I would like to discuss with you all these directions of our joint work. You are welcome.
For his part, the Syrian president said: “I would like to begin by congratulating you on the beginning of your new constitutional term. I believe that the results of the recent elections are evidence that the policies you have pursued, both domestically and internationally, have satisfied the Russian people, who have seen that they are giving Russia a greater and greater position on the international stage every day.”
Assad added to his Russian counterpart: “I am pleased that we meet again today in Sochi, several months after our last meeting here. The truth is that many positive changes have taken place between these two meetings, especially with regard to firstly the fight against terrorism. The terrorist arena in Syria has become much smaller, and in just the last few weeks, hundreds of…Thousands of Syrians have returned to their homes, and millions more are on their way back. This means more stability, and this stability opens the door to the political process that began years ago.
He continued: “Of course, as we announced previously, we announce today again that we always support and have a lot of enthusiasm for this process because it is necessary in parallel with the fight against terrorism. We know that this matter will not be easy, because there are countries in the world, as you know, that do not want to see this complete stability in Syria. However, we and you We, our friends and partners in the peace process, will continue with the same strength to achieve peace. This meeting today is an opportunity to develop a shared vision for the next phase of the peace talks, whether in Astana or Sochi.
