Moscow indicated on Monday its intention to continue supporting the military operation in Idlib, although the Russian Defense Ministry was keen to avoid announcing its direct military plans in the area’s ongoing battles.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that his country would “continue to work on extending the control of the Syrian government over the entire territories,” adding that this item should provide the suitable conditions to guarantee the rights of all components of the Syrian people.
Lavrov held talks Monday with his Syrian counterpart Walid Moallem prior to the launch of the 12th Syrian-Russian joint committee for commercial, economic, scientific, and technical cooperation.
The two men tackled the situation in Idlib, the Turkish operations in northern Syria, the situation in East Euphrates and the file of the constitutional committee.
Lavov’s meeting with Moallem coincided with the visit of a Turkish delegation to Moscow to discuss the Idlib file.
The Russian FM said that Syria is transitioning into the stage of restoring stability, reconstruction, and launching huge economic projects, which has become a reality after the Syrian Arab Army established control over large areas and liberated them from terrorism with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
He also lauded the launch of the committee for discussing the constitution in Geneva despite all attempts to obstruct its work, affirming the necessity of finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria according to the resolution no. 2254.
For his part, Moallem praised the use of veto by Russia and China, two days ago, against a draft resolution at the Security Council that exploits humanitarian issues and violates Syria’s sovereignty, saying that this double veto affirms Russia and China’s commitment to Syria’s sovereignty.
Moallem said the US, Turkish, and the Israeli enemy, along with a number of states in the region, continue to conspire against Syria to hinder its joint efforts with Russia to fight terrorism, particularly Jabhat al-Nusra.
The Syrian FM hoped that the economic relations between Syria and Russia would reach the level of their political and military relations, noting that the Syrian state gives priority to Russian companies in the reconstruction process due to Russia’s support for Syria in fighting terrorism.
Moallem’s statement carried assertions on the expected results of the Syrian-Russian joint committee for commercial, economic, scientific, and technical cooperation, which would see the signing of a pack of agreements and contracts between the two sides.