Syria heads towards recovery and prosperity, says Sablin from Maaloula

Damascus, (ST) – The Russian parliamentary delegation headed by Dmitry Sablin, Head of the Russian-Syrian Friendship Committee in the Russian State Duma, visited on Wednesday the city of Maaloula in Damascus countryside.

The visit, which began with laying wreaths on the memorial plaque for the martyrs in the city square, included providing some educational supplies to the “Ghattas Shaheen School” for Basic Education, distributing gifts to its students, and a visit to the monuments of Martgla and Martgla monastery.

 In a statement to SANA, Sablin said that, the purpose of the visit is to share with the families and children of Maaloula the joys of Christmas and to see the historical monuments in the city after its liberation from terrorism.

He added that after the victories that Syria has achieved against terrorism, it is heading towards prosperity and development, and the difficulties will be overcome by cooperation between Syria and the Russian Federation.

In turn, Russian State Duma member Nikolai Valuev referred to the close and fruitful cooperation between the Syrian and Russian sides in combating terrorism, which is a threat to the entire world. He also stressed the role of youth in reconstruction.

For his part, Archimandrite Matta Rizk, the Head of the Martula Monastery, considered that the visit of the Russian delegation to the city of Maaloula is evidence of the recovery of Syria, which is now experiencing the joys of Christmas and New Year.

“It is nice for Russian friends to participate in the joys of Christmas and New Year, especially that we have strong relations with Russia, in addition to that, Russian and Syrian blood mixed in the fight against terrorism”, Archimandrite Rizk added

Maaloula City Council Chairman Ibrahim Al-Shaer said that, the visit of the Russian delegation brought joy and happiness to the students’ hearts. He stressed the continuation of restoring religious places and infrastructure in the city that was damaged by terrorism, to restore its tourist brilliance.

Raghda Sawas