Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with visiting Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu on Monday and discussed with him strengthening bilateral relations, as well as international and regional security, the Syrian presidency announced.
"Assad received Shoigu and discussed with him a number of issues of international and national security, as well as bilateral relations between Syria and Russia and prospects for strengthening them in order to serve the interests of both countries," it said in a statement.
This was Shoigu’s first visit to Damascus since his appointment as Security Council Secretary in May. He had visited the Syrian capital on several occasions as Russian Defense Minister, the last of which was in February.
According to observers in Damascus, Shoigu’s meeting with Assad comes as part of Russian efforts to organize meetings between Syrian and Turkish officials to improve relations.
