Syrian President Bashar al Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin conferred over dinner alone for three hours, yesterday, following a meeting with ministerial officials from both sides. “During the extensive talks, President Bashar Assad discussed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a wide spectrum of political and economic matters, bilateral relations, cooperation in various spheres, as well as the recent developments in the regional and international arenas,” the Syrian Presidency said in a statement, reported TASS. Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters this morning that Russian-Syrian cooperation in such sensitive areas as military-technical cooperation was also discussed, as well as “cooperation in the context of the reconstruction of Syria.” He added that the talks also touched on the normalization of relations between Syria and Turkey.
As a result of the talks, a decision was made that would allow the signing of “a very important document on the further development of trade and economic cooperation” between Russia and Syria in the coming weeks or months.
“Owing to our joint efforts and the decisive contribution of the Russian Armed Forces, Syria has achieved tangible results in the fight against international terrorism. This is making it possible to stabilize the socioeconomic and domestic political situation,” Putin said to Assad in welcoming him at the start. “However, the Syrian people have faced another very serious problem, a disastrous earthquake. Of course, this is aggravating the situation. We are trying to support you, as true friends do. As you know, our representatives from both the Emergencies Ministry and the Armed Forces located in Syria are also contributing to the earthquake relief efforts.”
In reply, Assad thanked Putin and the Russian government for their efforts to help Syria deal with the aftermath of the Feb. 6 earthquake disaster. He also thanked Russia for its support of Syria in the international arena and reiterated Syria’s support for Russia in its special military operation in Ukraine. “Our position is based not only on our friendship and devotion,” he said. “Our position proceeds from the need to stabilize the world. Otherwise, it is in for some big thunder.”
There were also separate meetings of foreign ministers, defense ministers and economics officials of both sides.
