Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Moscow, SANA – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani arrived in the Russian capital, Moscow Thursday, heading a high-level delegation, on an official visit.
At the beginning of his meeting with Minister al-Shaibani and the accompanying delegation at the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Guest House in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “We are closely following the ongoing events in Syria, which is facing numerous challenges during the transitional period. We sincerely hope that the friendly Syrian people, with whom we have historically cooperative relations, will overcome these challenges.”
Lavrov added: “We previously met in Turkey and discussed the prospects for cooperation in various fields, and we hope to continue this discussion today. We certainly look forward to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa attendance at the first Russian-Arab summit scheduled for October 15th.”
For his part, minister al-Shaibani said: “The relationship between nations is a historical and humanitarian one, but some governments are spoiling this relationship. We are here today to represent the new Syria, as we want to establish a correct and sound relationship between the two countries based on cooperation and mutual respect.”
he added: “We have worked since December 8th to fill the political, civil, and service vacuum in Syria. We have been able to preserve civil and governmental institutions and confront all the challenges we have faced, such as… Destabilizing the region to spread chaos, and today we are working to reunite Syrians at home and abroad.”
Al-Shaibani noted that Syria is going through a challenging period, but also that there are tremendous opportunities for a strong and unified Syria, expressing hope that Moscow will stand by Damascus on this path.
Adnan/Manar
