Assad, Putin Hold Talks in Moscow
KABUL: (Middle East Press) Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin have held talks on the situation in Syria in Russia’s capital Moscow, reports said on Wednesday.
According to reports, Assad made a surprise visit to Moscow on Tuesday evening to thank Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for launching air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that during the meeting the Syrian president informed the Russian leader about the plans of government forces in the fight against terrorists in the Middle Easter country.
Kremlin added, the two presidents had a lengthy discussion, part of which was conducted in the presence of Russia’s top policymakers.
“The agenda of the negotiations is clearly understandable,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
During the negation, Putin told Assad that Russia is ready to contribute not only to fight against terrorism but also to find a political solution to the crisis in the Arab country.
Putin further noted that at least 4,000 citizens from the former Soviet Union are fighting along with terrorists is Syria, adding, “We can’t let them appear in Russia.”
The visit is believed to be Assad’s first foreign trip since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011 and comes three weeks after Russia launched a campaign of air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria on Sept. 30.
Assad reportedly said that all Syrian people want to participate in deciding the future of the country.
“First of all I wanted to express my huge gratitude to the whole leadership of the Russian Federation for the help they are giving Syria,” Assad told Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript.
