Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad arrives in Moscow: Office

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Mar 2023 20:17

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad arrives in Moscow for an official visit and plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 13, 2021. (Reuters)

On his first official visit outside the Middle East since last month's devastating earthquake, Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, as per a statement from the Syrian Presidency via Telegram.

The statement added that Al-Assad will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit, along with a big Syrian ministerial delegation.

In a statement, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Syria's leader Bashar Al-Assad in Moscow on Wednesday.

"Topical issues of further development of Russian-Syrian cooperation in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as prospects for a comprehensive settlement of the situation in and around Syria will be discussed," the Kremlin revealed on Tuesday.

This comes shortly after a Turkish diplomatic source revealed on Monday that a meeting that will involve Syria, Turkey, Russia, and Iran at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers is set to be held on March 15 and 16 in Moscow.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced earlier last week that a technical delegation will head to Moscow, prior to the planned foreign ministers' meeting in mid-March.

"The Iranian side will also attend this meeting. At this meeting, preparations for the foreign ministers' meeting will be made," Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with his Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in Ankara.

December talks

The Russian, Syrian, and Turkish defense ministers held talks in the Russian capital, Moscow, earlier in December 2022 where they discussed means of resolving the Syrian crisis.

"On December 28, trilateral talks between the defense ministers of Russia, Syria, and Turkey took place in Moscow. The meeting discussed ways to address the Syrian crisis, the issue of refugees, and joint efforts to combat extremist groups in Syria," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the defense ministers highlighted how the dialogue was constructive, stressing the need for all three parties to hold further talks to bring more stability to Syria and the whole region, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Defense Minister Akar and the head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), Hakan Fidan, met Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas and Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk in Moscow, along with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.