Vladimir Putin congratulated Bashar Assad for his success in fighting Islamist militants, saying "Syria is striving in the fight against terrorist groups," adding "the Syrian people are going through very difficult trials and are gradually approaching the final, unavoidable rout of terrorists."
"You know, we are actively working with other countries as well, with Iraq, the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan. And we are in constant contact with this partners," Putin said at a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Putin expressed hope that the fight against terrorism in Syria will conclude in the very near future.
"Thanks to the Astana process we managed to create de-escalation zones, which served to start a real and deep dialogue with the opposition, pretty much for the first time," Putin stressed.
"Vladimir Putin also introduced Bashar Assad tothe leadership ofthe Defense Ministry and the General Staff ofthe Russian Armed Forces, who were present inSochi forthe next roundof meetings onthe issues ofmilitary construction and the State Armaments Program," asquoted inTuesday's statement ofthe Kremlin press service.
Bashar Assad said ata meeting withRussian President Vladimir Putinthat the aerial support provided bytheRussian Aerospace Forceshad been key toresolving the conflict inSyriathroughdiplomacy: "I am very pleased tomeet withyou two years and a few weeks afterRussia launched the operation, which is very successful It must be admitted that this operation allowed us toadvance the political settlement inSyria.
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9:07 AM - Nov 21, 2017
Syria's President added thatDamascusis ready tohold a dialogue withall who are interested ina political settlement inSyria.
Also, Bashar Assad stated that he relies onRussia's support inensuring that external players don't interfere inthe political process inSyria.
"Over this period, great success has been achieved, both directly onthe battlefield and inpolitical terms. Many areas ofSyria have been liberated fromterrorists, and Syrians who were forced toleave them earlier could return tothese areas," Assad added.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="644"]
Vladimir Putin meets with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad[/caption]The meeting betweenRussian and Syrian leaders took place onMonday inthe Russian resort city ofSochi.
The presidents ofRussia, Iran and Turkey will meet onNovember 22 atthe trilateral summit inSochi, where they will discuss "the entire Syrian agenda, according toKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
