Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday in Moscow expressed gratitude to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for supporting his country’s fight against insurgency and extremism.
Al-Assad’s visit was the first official trip outside Syria since the uprising against his regime started in 2011.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told newsmen that Al-Assad and Putin discussed among other issues the
Peskov quoted Al-Assad as saying “if it were not for your actions and decisions, the terrorism that is spreading through the region now would have made even greater gains and spread to even wider territories.”
The Syrian president said the military strikes were “essential” because “terrorism is a real obstacle on the road to reaching a political settlement.”
“We all know that any military action must be followed by political steps,” he told Putin.
Al-Assad also expressed hope that t both countries would be able to “vanquish terrorism and continue working together to rebuild Syria economically and politically.”
Middle Eastern powers including Saudi Arabia and Turkey have called for Al-Assad resignation as part of a political solution to the conflict, which began as protests against his rule evolved into riots amid a government crackdown.
However, Russia believes that instability in the Syrian government could allow extremist militant groups, including Islamic State, to take control by force –to this end, it began a bombing campaign against militant groups in Syria last month to support Al-Assad’s government.
Russia and Syria are closest allies in the Middle East.
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