Assad, Putin meet to discuss military campaign
- 9 years ago
Syrian President Bashar Assad made a surprise visit to Moscow on Tuesday evening to thank Russia's President Vladimir Putin for launching air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria.
The visit is believed to be Assad's first foreign trip since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011 and comes three weeks after Russia launched a campaign of air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria on Sept. 30.
"First of all I wanted to express my huge gratitude to the whole leadership of the Russian Federation for the help they are giving Syria," Assad told Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript.
Putin said that positive developments on the military front in Syria would provide a basis for a long-term political solution, involving all political forces, ethnic and religious groups.
The visit is believed to be Assad's first foreign trip since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011 and comes three weeks after Russia launched a campaign of air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria on Sept. 30.
"First of all I wanted to express my huge gratitude to the whole leadership of the Russian Federation for the help they are giving Syria," Assad told Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript.
Putin said that positive developments on the military front in Syria would provide a basis for a long-term political solution, involving all political forces, ethnic and religious groups.