On Russia’s Day”: Syrian-Russian Relations an Example of Strategic Cooperation

DAMASCUS, (ST)- Today, Russia is celebrating its National Day, “Russia’s Day”, which commemorates the declaration of sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on June 12, 1990. On this occasion, it would be useful to shed light on the historically distinguished relations between Syria and Russia.

 The Syrian-Russian relations continue to grow stronger at all political, economic, cultural and social levels. Friendship ties linking between the two countries since 1944, have become an example to follow. They have turned into a strategic partnership that laid the foundation for cooperation in different domains, particularly in the area of combating terrorism where Russia in cooperation with Syria are leading real international effort aiming to eliminate terrorism.

 The fruits of the strategic cooperation and coordination between Syria and Russia have reflected especially in the joint confrontation of terrorism, the biggest danger threatening the entire world today.

The Russian assistance to Syria has been embodied in airstrikes against terrorists in the country to support the Syrian Arab Army’s battle against terrorists.

The Syrian-Russian summit in Moscow late in October 2015 between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Bashar Al-Assad affirmed the strength of coordination and consultation between the two countries in the area of fighting terrorism. The two sides reiterated continuous cooperation to eliminate terrorism. This cooperation has led within the course of events to stopping the expansion of terrorism.  Both announced that the goal of the military operation was to eliminate terrorism which hinders political solution and they asserted that the final say regarding Syria’s future must be to the Syrian people.

Economic Relations  

Having a look at the economic and social relations between Syria and Russia, one can notice how solid and strong these relations are being based on friendship and mutual respect and interest. Such distinguished relations have played a great role in alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people caused by the unfair western economic sanctions and the terrorist aggression against Syria. This role was reflected on ground through the Russian humanitarian aid to the Syrians and through the enhancement of official trade relations with Syria despite pressure by the United States and its western allies who are openly support the terrorist organizations that have been targeting the Syrian people and their potentials for more than five years.

The keenness of the two countries on boosting their historical relations is evident in their continuous contacts, consultations and meetings at the political, economic, trade and cultural levels. The Syrian-Russian relations have witnessed notable development over the past years represented in mutual visits by senior officials of the two countries.

The trade ties between Syria and Russia are managed by a number of trade, economic and technical cooperation agreements and protocols to facilitate and encourage trade exchange and boost cooperation in the areas of economy, energy, irrigation, agriculture, industry, transport and oil.

Russia supplies Syria with oil products as well as chemical and organic materials in addition to metals, wood, fertilizers, paper, pipelines, tractors, corn, fodders and several kinds of equipments while Syria exports tom Russia food products, light industry products, vegetables and fruits, textiles production, shoes, housewares and furniture.

Tourism

The Tourism agreements signed between the two countries have expanded tourism cooperation and consolidated joint economic and tourist resources.  Russian tourism investment projects were launched by Russian investors as Syria offers considerable facilitations to Russian tourists. The Syrian Tourism Ministry announced the existence of high level Syrian-Russian tourism cooperation and talked about efforts being exerted to establish a Syrian-Russian free tourism zone.

Cultural and academic ties

Academic and cultural cooperation between Syria and Russia also witnessed remarkable development and the two sides signed several agreements in this field. In April, the Syrian Higher Education Ministry announced that it will present 26 scholarships for high School students to complete their study in Russian universities.

In the area of education, the Syrian Ministry of education have set a plan to gradually introduce the Russian language to the Syrian curricula.

Moreover, the Syrian-Russian Media cooperation have grown over the past few years. The two sides signed several agreements most recent of which was the cooperation agreement signed between the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) and the Russian “Sputnik” news agency and Radio.

Hamda Mustafa