Assad pays unannounced visit to Moscow
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, an unannounced meeting was held in Moscow between Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin, during which they discussed bilateral cooperation and methods to expand and develop this cooperation.
The Russian President held a meeting with the Syrian president, who reached Russian capital in an unannounced visit on Monday evening, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
The two parties discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries and efforts taken to expand and develop this cooperation in order to pursue common interests.
The meeting began with a lengthy meeting between Putin and Assad, and later Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad and Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoygu joined them.
“The two parties discussed cooperation between the armies of the two countries in countering terrorism, the ongoing process of liberating lands that are still under the control of terrorist factions, and they also tackled the steps taken for the political path,” the Syrian state news agency SANA said.
“I am happy to meet you in Moscow six years after our joint operations against terrorism, during which the two armies achieved major accomplishments not only in liberating lands and returning IDPs to their villages and cities, but also in protecting many innocent civilians all over the world because terrorism does not have political limits ,” Assad said.
“Additionally, the political process has been recently launched in Sochi, Astana, and Geneva, but some obstacles were posed by those countries which support terrorism with their main interest to interrupt the continuation of this process and destabilize Syria,” he pointed out.
Assad also described sanctions imposed by some nations on Syria as “inhumane and illegitimate.”
He also stressed his country’s insistence on continuing to liberate lands and having political dialogue.
The visit is an important opportunity to discuss these two points in addition to the bilateral ties which will be discussed by specialists from the two countries, the Syrian president indicated.
Meanwhile, Putin congratulated Assad on winning a fourth term in office in the May presidential with more than 95% of the vote, and also congratulated him on his recent birthday.
“The result indicates that people trust you despite all difficulties they went through during a decade of war; people still link the processes of recovery and return to normal life to you,” Putin said.
“I know that you (Assad) are giving a lot of effort for the sake of recovery and return to normal life, especially as you are contacting your political foes, hoping this process will continue,” he added.
The Russian president attributed the interruption of the process of restoring lands under Syrian government power to the presence of foreign forces.
Putin told Assad that the presence of foreign forces in Syria without a U.N. decision or his approval were a hindrance to its consolidation, and in order to going a head in restoring lands, one legitimate government should run the country.
“The terrorists sustained very serious damage, and the Syrian government, headed by you, controls 90% of the territories,” Putin said.