Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his visit to Moscow will open a new stage in relations with Russia – Reuters

The conversation between the two leaders began with the participation of the delegations of the two countries, then continued within the framework of a one-on-one working breakfast. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Construction Minister Irek Fayzullin and Presidential Assistant for International Affairs Yuri Ushakov took part in the talks from the Russian side . Putin noted that relations between the two countries are developing in different areas, and the heads of state themselves are in constant contact. “Thanks to our joint efforts and the decisive contribution of the Russian Armed Forces, significant results have been achieved in Syria in the fight against international terrorism. This helps to stabilize the socio-economic and domestic political situation,” the President said. Russian. . Relations between the two countries are also developing in the economic field. “Over the past year, a 7% growth in trade has been recorded,” Putin said.

In turn, Assad confirmed that meetings at different levels between the Russian Federation and Syria do not stop. “The various changes taking place on the international scene oblige us to meet more and more often in order to understand the framework in which we are going to evolve”, he declared. According to him, this visit will launch a new stage in the relations between the two countries. “I am very satisfied with the results of the meeting of our various ministries over the past three days, I consider them to be the best meetings that have taken place in recent years. And I think the results that the two parties have achieved this time will help support our financial and economic relations, implement more in practice, not at the level of slogans,” Assad said.

Significant results achieved in the fight against international terrorism in Syria

The Syrian president also expressed his support for Moscow in a special operation in Ukraine. “Now I want to repeat the Syrian position in favor of this special operation against neo-Nazis and former Nazis. I say ‘old’ and ‘new Nazis’ because the West, as it has accepted former Nazis on its territory, (so) now he started to support them, in the present time,” he said. Assad added that the situation in the world must be stabilized. “We support the special operation not because that our countries are friends. Our position is based on the fact that the world really needs stabilization now, otherwise it will collapse,” he explained.
Furthermore, the President of Syria thanked the Russian authorities for their assistance following the recent earthquakes in the Arab Republic. “Thanks to their participation, it was possible to significantly reduce the number of victims and the extent of the damage,” he said. Putin, in turn, regretted that the Syrian people faced such a disaster. “That, of course, makes the situation worse. But we, like true friends, try to support you,” he said, referring to his colleague. The Russian leader recalled that after the disaster, units under the auspices of the Russian Emergencies Ministry were working in Syria. He added that representatives of the Russian armed forces, who are in Syria, also contribute to the fight against the consequences of the disaster.

As previously announced in the Kremlin, in the closed part of the talks, the leaders planned to discuss the continuation of the Syrian settlement. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov also did not rule out the subject of Syrian-Turkish relations being discussed.

Staff

Vladimir Putin replaced the leader of Chukotka

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Vladislav Kuznetsov as head of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Yesterday, the Head of State held a working meeting with him by videoconference. This was announced by the President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov. Former Chukotka leader Roman Kopin was removed from office by presidential decree at his own request.

It should be noted that Kuznetsov previously served as First Deputy Prime Minister of the LPR. Before that, he worked as a deputy governor of Kurgan region.