On November 20, President Vladimir
Putin had talks with President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar
al-Assad who was in Russia on a working visit.
November 21, 2017
08:00
Sochi
With President of the Syrian Arab
Republic Bashar al-Assad.
Vladimir Putin also introduced Bashar
al-Assad to senior officials of the Russian Defence Ministry
and the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces who were
in Sochi to attend another series of meetings on military
construction and the State Armament Programme.
* * *
Beginning of meeting with President
of Syria Bashar al-Assad
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr
President, friends,
Welcome to Sochi. First, let me
congratulate you on Syria’s results in combating terrorist groups
as well as on the fact that the Syrian people, despite
a very difficult ordeal, are gradually moving towards the final
and inevitable defeat of the terrorists.
Mr President, as you know, I will
meet with my colleagues – the presidents of Turkey
and Iran – here in Sochi the day after tomorrow. We have
agreed to hold additional consultations with you during our meeting.
Of course, the main subject on the agenda is
a peaceful and lasting political settlement in Syria after
the routing of the terrorists.
As you know, in addition
to the partners I have mentioned we are also working closely
together with other countries, such as Iraq, the United States,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. We maintain constant contact with these
partners.
I would like to talk with you
about the basic principles of the political process
and the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, the idea
of which you have supported. I would like to hear your opinions
on the current situation and development prospects and your
views on the political process, which should ultimately be
implemented under the UN auspices. We also hope that the UN will join
the [political] process at its final stage.
I am glad to see you. Welcome
to Russia.
President of Syria Bashar al-Assad (retranslated): Thank you
very much, Mr President.
I am very glad to have this
opportunity to meet with you two years and several weeks after Russia
launched a very successful operation.
Over this period, we have achieved major
success both on the battlefield and on the political
track. Many regions in Syria have been liberated from the terrorists,
and the Syrians who had to flee from these regions can now
return there.
It should be acknowledged that
the operation brought progress to the political settlement
in Syria. And the process which was started and which
Russia promoted with various efforts continues, above all, based
on respect for the UN Charter, the state’s sovereignty
and independence. This stance has been defended at various
international platforms, including the talks in Astana. The same
goes for the plans to hold the Syrian National Dialogue
Conference in a few days. Today we have an excellent opportunity
to discuss both the upcoming conference and the upcoming
summit, and to coordinate our views on the next steps.
First, I would like to take
an opportunity and pass congratulations and gratitude from
the Syrian people to you, Mr President, for our joint success
in defending Syria’s territorial integrity and independence. We would
like to extend our gratitude to those institutions
of the Russian state that provided assistance – primarily,
the Russian Defence Ministry that has supported us throughout this
operation. Also I would like to pass our gratitude
to the Russian people who remain a friendly nation to us.
They have supported us all along.
Thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin: You mentioned
the Astana talks. I also think they were quite a success. Thanks
to the Astana process we managed to create de-escalation zones,
which allowed us to start the first real and in-depth dialogue
with the opposition.
Based on the outcome of this
meeting, I will consult further with the leaders
of the countries I just mentioned. A conversation with the Emir of Qatar is
scheduled for today. Tomorrow, I am speaking with US President Donald Trump. After that, I am speaking with
the leaders of the countries in the region.
As you know, the so-called Riyadh
opposition group will hold a meeting in Riyadh
on November 22–23. Our representative, Mr Lavrentyev, will attend
the opening and closing of this meeting, as well as a news
conference, as a special presidential envoy. Therefore,
I believe that our meeting today is a very good opportunity
to coordinate our approaches on all settlement issues. I am glad
that we can do this.
Bashar al-Assad: At this stage,
and especially after our victories over the terrorists, we are
interested in promoting the political process. We believe that
the political situation that has developed in the regions offers
an opportunity for progress in the political process. We
hope Russia will support us by ensuring the external players’
non-interference in the political process, so that they will only
support the process waged by the Syrians themselves.
We do not want to look back. We will
accept and talk with anyone who is really interested
in a political settlement.
Vladimir Putin: Very good. You have
mentioned the completion of the military operation.
I believe that terrorism is a global problem and the fight
against it is, of course, far from over. As for our joint
efforts against the terrorists in Syria, this military operation is
nearing completion indeed.
I believe that the main task now
is to launch the political process. I am glad that you are ready
to work with anyone who wants peace and conflict resolution.
<…>
With President of the Syrian Arab
Republic Bashar al-Assad at a meeting with senior officials
of the Russian Defence Ministry and the General Staff
of the Russian Armed Forces.
Meeting with senior officials
of the Defence Ministry and the General Staff
of the Russian Armed Forces
Vladimir Putin: I have asked
the President of Syria to attend our meeting.
I want him to see those who have
played the key role in saving Syria.
Of course, Mr Assad knows some
of you personally. He told me at our talks today that
the Russian Army has saved Syria as a state. Much has been done
to stabilise the situation in Syria. I hope that we will
close the chapter on the fight against terrorism in Syria,
although some seats of tension will remain or will flare up again.
There are more than enough problems with
terrorism in the world, including in the Middle East
and Syria. But our main mission is almost accomplished,
and I hope we will be able to say that we have accomplished it
soon.
We have held very substantial talks with
the President of Syria today on all aspects related
to normalisation, including subsequent steps on the political
track. As you know, we will hold a trilateral meeting here
in Sochi. However, I would like to say that conditions
for a political process could not have been created without
the armed forces, without your efforts and the efforts
and heroism of your subordinates. This goal has been achieved thanks
to the Russian Armed Forces and our Syrian friends
on the battlefield. Thank you for this.
Bashar al-Assad (retranslated): President
of Russia Vladimir Putin and I have just held talks. I have
conveyed to him, and on his behalf to the Russian
people, our gratitude for Russia’s efforts to save our country.
I would like to highlight
the contribution of the Russian Armed Forces
and the sacrifices they have made to achieve this goal.
I was very glad to learn that you, those of you who were
directly involved in the operation [in Syria] and who
commanded the activities of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria
will be present here today.
The operation barely started when
I met with President
Putin in Moscow two years ago. In the two years since then we
can see the success that has been achieved thanks to cooperation
between the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Army. Nobody
can deny this success in the fight against terrorism now. Thanks
to your actions, as well as the actions
of the Syrian Army and our allies, many Syrians have returned
home.
Speaking on behalf
of the Syrian people, I would like to express our gratitude
for what you have accomplished. We will never forget this. Also,
I would like to thank personally President Vladimir Putin, [Defence
Minister] Sergei Shoigu and [Chief
of the General Staff] Valery Gerasimov for their direct
involvement in this operation.
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