Syria hails joint 6-yr anti-terror campaign with Russia

Moscow, Sep 14 (IANS) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday hailed his country's six-year joint anti-terror campaign with Russia during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

In the video footage of the meeting released by his office, Assad started his speech by hailing the Syrian-Russian efforts to fight terror groups in his country, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I am happy to meet today in Moscow as the six years have passed since the joint operation against terror started, during which both the Syrian and Russian armies made major achievements not only about liberating lands or returning refugees to their areas but through protecting other people across the world because terrorism crosses borders," he said.

The Syrian leader noted that his visit to Moscow is an important opportunity to discuss two issues -- fighting terrorism and the political process.

He added that his government insists on moving forward with fighting terrorism in parallel with the political process.

Putin congratulated Assad on winning the May 26 presidential elections, and spoke about the importance of the reconstruction process in Syria and the need for a political solution to move forward.

"The (election) results show that people trust you and, despite all challenges of the previous years and tragedies of the previous years, still associate the process of recovery and return to normal life with you," Putin told Assad.

Russia has been supporting the Assad government in the fight against terror groups in Syria since 2015.

The last time the two leader spoke was in November 2020 via video conference due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Putin had visited the country in January 2020.