Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Sochi, SANA- Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Wednesday Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem in Sochi, Russia.
A statement by Kremlin said talks during the meeting dealt with Russian-Syrian relations.
Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed with al-Moallem the bilateral relations between Syria and Russia.
Following talks, al-Moallem expressed satisfaction over the outcomes of his talks with President Putin and Minister Lavrov, announcing that President Putin affirmed Russia’s determination to cooperate with Syria and with President Bashar al-Assad in order to defeat terrorism and deepen the strategic partnership relations between both countries.
Al-Moallem said, at a press conference with Lavrov, the talks dealt with “the situation in the region and the conspiracy against Syria, that became well-known to all, by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey” clarifying that he affirmed to the Russian leadership the Syrian peoples’ determination to combat terrorism.
“Talks also dealt with the mission of UN Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, and the two sides had identical viewpoints on the need for supporting his efforts to freeze the situation in Aleppo” al-Moallem said.
He added both sides discussed the Russian ideas about holding a Syrian-Syrian dialogue in Moscow.
“I listened, with great interest; to those ideas as we agreed to continue consultations to put a joint vision leading to a political solution in Syria.” Al-Moallem said.
For his part, Lavrov underlined there is a joint vision on what is happening in the region in general, and in Syria, in particular, saying that the main factor for the events is represented by the attempts of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization to establish ” a caliphate with extremist regimes” in Syria and Iraq.
He affirmed his country’s commitment to support Syria in combating terrorism.
“We condemn any attempt by terrorist organizations to topple the regime (in Syria)… we reached a unified opinion with al-Moallem that there is no solution (for the crisis) by force in Syria” Lavrov said.
He also condemned the US-led airstrikes in Syria without the approval of the Syrian government which contradicts with the international law, affirming that Washington’s refusal to cooperate with Damascus in combating terrorism is totally unjustified.
The Russian Minister went on to say that it is very important to find suitable conditions for a political solution in Syria, pointing out his country supports de Mistura’s efforts, ” but the last word will be for Syrians”.
“We discussed bilateral relations and gave the priority to carry out the agreements agreed upon during the works of the Russian-Syrian joint governmental committee lately held in Sochi,” Lavrov said.
On looting Syrian oil by terrorists and selling it through Turkish mediators with cheap prices, Lavrov told SANA reporter “we receive information through multiple sources on smuggling the oil from Syria and we will go ahead in combating terrorism through ways based on the international law.”
He added that Russia has sent a document to the Security Council asking it to put an end to the purchase of the stolen oil and to stop such practices.
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Mazen Eyon
