Russian terror fighter
© The Moscow TimesRussian counterterrorism unit
Russia is ready to share its experience of fighting against terrorism with the Syrian authorities to help them tackle the crisis in the country, Vladimir Vasilyev, the deputy speaker of the Russian lower house, said Monday.

Russia's State Duma lawmakers and members of PACE, including President Pedro Agramunt, had a meeting with the local authorities in Damascus on Monday.

"We have paid a terrible cost for stopping the international terrorism in North Caucasus. We have the certain experience that we are ready to discuss and implement together with you," Vasilyev said at a meeting between the Russian lawmakers, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) members and the speaker of Syrian People's Council, Hadiya Khalaf Abbas.

In 2016, Russian security services thwarted a terrorist attack and eliminated 98 militants in North Caucasus. Dagestan is a hotbed of Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus. Multiple violent attacks have plagued the region over the past decade.