Assad meets with Putin in Moscow, reiterates support to Russia in fight against 'old and new Nazis'

TASS
Wed, 15 Mar 2023 23:26 UTC

© SANA

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 15, 2023.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday reiterated his support to Russia in the fight with "old and new Nazis."

"I want to take advantage of the moment, as this is my first visit since the [start of the] special operation in Ukraine, and reiterate the Syrian position in support of the special operation against the old and new Nazis. I'm saying they are old and new Nazis because the West accepted old Nazis on its soil, and now it supports them again," the Syrian leader said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Assad arrived in Moscow on Tuesday evening. He was met at the airport by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also the presidential special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Bashar Jaafari and Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Yefimov. В последний раз Putin and Assad last met in September 2021 when the Syrian president came to Moscow.

Comment: Video excerpt of the above statement:

PressTV reports:

Syria's Assad says his visit to Moscow heralds 'new stage' in bilateral relations

"We are satisfied with the performance of the Russian-Syrian [intergovernmental] commission. My visit today will open up a new stage in relations between our countries in all areas," TASS quoted Assad as saying in a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Assad also thanked Russia for providing Damascus with humanitarian aid following the recent quakes in the Arab country.

"I would like to thank ministries and agencies of the Russian Federation that helped in elimination of the aftermath of the earthquakes. Thanks to their involvement, we were able to significantly reduce the number of victims and the scale of damage," the Syrian leader said.

Meanwhile US sanctions blocked aid, and Israel continued to attack the country with airstrikes.

Putin, for his part, said the two countries are in constant contact, lauding their relations as "developing."

The Russian leader also hailed the two countries' anti-terror cooperation and its "significant results" in the fight against international terrorism.

"Thanks to our joint efforts and the decisive contribution of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, significant results have been achieved in the fight against international terrorism," Putin said.

The Russian president noted that those results had provided "an opportunity for stabilizing the socio-economic and domestic political situation."

Putin also expressed sympathy with the Syrian nation over the recent devastating quakes that rocked the country, describing it as a "catastrophe."

"The Syrian people faced another very serious problem, a catastrophe, an earthquake... As true friends, we are trying to support you," Putin said.

Last month's earthquakes has killed some 6,000 people in Syria, mostly in northwest areas near the Turkish border.

According to the UN, some five million people need basic shelter and non-food assistance in the quake-hit part of Syria.

The Syrian president arrived in Moscow on an official visit on Tuesday, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers.

The two leaders last met in September 2021, when the Syrian president paid a visit to Moscow.

Moscow is a staunch ally of Damascus, providing air support for Syrian forces fighting foreign-backed militants and terrorists in the Arab country.

Together with Iran and Turkey, Russia has also served as one of the guarantors of negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition.