Assad Expresses to Putin Gratitude for Russia’s 'Comprehensive' Support to Syria

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017 (AFP)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017 (AFP)
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Assad Expresses to Putin Gratitude for Russia’s 'Comprehensive' Support to Syria

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017 (AFP)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017 (AFP)

Syrian President Bashar Assad expressed to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin gratitude to Moscow’s “comprehensive support and aid” to Damascus.

In a telephone call on Monday, “the Syrian President expressed his deep gratitude to Russia for the comprehensive aid and support being provided to the Syrian people,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Assad and Putin discussed current issues on the bilateral agenda, primarily the prospects for further development of trade, economic and humanitarian ties. They also tackled efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s supply of its Sputnik V vaccine to Syria.

On February 22, Damascus authorized the vaccine to be used in the country.

On Syria, the officials focused on promoting the intra-Syrian peace process within the Constitutional Committee, added the Kremlin.

Assad also briefed Putin on the preparations for the upcoming presidential elections on May 26.

The Syrian presidency said in a statement that “Assad thanked Russia for the humanitarian assistance provided to help the Syrian people overcome the impact of the unjust blockade imposed on the country.”

It added that the two presidents also tackled a number of political issues, particularly the work of the Constitutional Committee and western pressure aimed at “diverting it from its track.”



Israeli Airstrikes Kill 11 Palestinians in Gaza

A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)
A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill 11 Palestinians in Gaza

A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)
A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)

Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 11 Palestinians, health officials in the enclave said on Sunday, as Israeli planes bombarded several northern, central and southern areas.

A school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip was among buildings hit, killing four people and wounded several others, Gaza medics said.

The Israeli military said it struck Hamas fighters operating from a command center embedded in a compound that had previously served as Um Al-Fahm School. It accused Hamas of exploiting civilian facilities and its population for military purposes, which Hamas denies.

In another strike, three people were killed in a house in Gaza City, medics said. Four others were killed in three separate airstrikes in Nuseirat and Khan Younis in central and southern parts of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces pursued their operations in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, and in Gaza City's suburb of Zeitoun, where forces blew up several houses, according to residents and Hamas media.

On Sunday the Israeli military said forces continue the fight in a "multi-front war" and are operating in Gaza to bring Israeli and foreign hostages home and to "dismantle" Hamas.

It said troops discovered and dismantled an underground tunnel route that is approximately 1km long near residential buildings and civilian spaces in central Gaza, adding that they found several rooms and equipment used by Hamas for prolonged periods.

Fighting and Israeli military activities in Gaza have declined in the past week as Israel escalated its military offensive against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Friday. The group announced Nasrallah's death on Saturday.

Most of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have been displaced by the war, in which 41,500 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel and Hamas have been fighting since gunmen from the Palestinian group stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing about 250 hostages, going by Israeli tallies.