The Russian ambassador in Damascus: The results of the elections confirm the confidence of the Syrians in their president
In an exclusive interview on the occasion of his country’s National Day, Ambassador Yefimov congratulated the Syrian people for successfully conducting the presidential elections under the current extremely difficult circumstances. He said: I add my voice to the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin that the results of the vote fully confirmed the high reputation of President Bashar al-Assad and the confidence of the Syrian citizens in the march under his leadership aimed at stabilizing the situation in the country as soon as possible and strengthening state institutions, stressing that Russia views the elections as a matter of sovereignty. He added the statements issued by some Western capitals about the illegality of the elections even before the end of the electoral campaign is an element of harsh political pressure on Damascus and a new attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria with the aim of destabilizing it.
The Russian ambassador considered that the decision of President al-Assad to go with the First Lady to the polling station in Douma is a very important indicator, as Syria’s opponents claim that the civilian population there sympathized with the militants previously, while the elections showed unequivocally that these insinuations are absolutely untrue. On the contrary, they confirmed that the President enjoys the wide support of the population, even in the areas that remained strongholds of terrorists until recently, pointing out that the huge celebrations that the people held with the victory of their president and gathered around him in the hope of achieving peace and stability in the country refute the allegations and accusations of Syria’s opponents.
Ambassador Yefimov stressed that his country, in turn, intends to continue to follow its consistent approach in supporting Syria and its comprehensive assistance in rebuilding the destroyed social and economic infrastructure and overcoming the negative repercussions of the war that has been going on for more than ten years.
In response to a question about Russian efforts to break the Western siege imposed on Syria, the Russian ambassador stressed that Russia attaches great importance to efforts to help Damascus break the siege and mitigate the impact of sanctions on it. He said: “Even in the circumstances of the diplomatic and economic war being waged against your country, Syria still has many foreign friends and partners in opinion, and I am sure that the number of countries that are interested in restoring and developing relations with Syria is in fact even greater than what we see now.”
On the economic cooperation between the two countries, the Russian ambassador affirmed that economic cooperation with Damascus is proceeding normally and Russian economic projects continue to be implemented in Syria, and Russian companies contribute to the reconstruction and operation of facilities and infrastructure projects vital to Syria.
K.Q.