RNA - Speaking in a meeting with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani in Damascus on Sunday, Assad criticized the role of certain Arab states of the Persian Gulf and also some neighbors of Syria that, by baking terrorist groups, hinder restoration of peace to the region.
Terrorism knows no borders and even those that incite it will not be safe from its flames, he added.
Elsewhere, Assad thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran for its effective role in the achievements made by the Syrian government against terrorism and stressed the need for continued trilateral cooperation of Syria, Iran and Russia in pursuing a political process for resolution of the Syrian crisis.
He went on to say that Damascus is determined to continue political processes but stressed that ceasefire and political negotiations should not be an obstacle to fighting against terrorist groups al-Nusra Front and Daesh until their annihilation.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh, currently controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
In recent months, the Syrian army and allied forces have gained major victories against foreign-backed terrorists, including one in Aleppo.
On December 15, Syria announced the full liberation of the northwestern city, with President Bashar al-Assad praising the victory as “history in the making and worthy of more than the word ‘congratulations’.”
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