President Al-Assad: Priority should be given to halting Turkish aggression on Syria, withdrawal of all illegal forces

DAMASCUS, (ST)- President Bashar Al-Assad has stressed that work during the present and coming era should focus on stopping the Turkish aggression on the Syrian territories and on the withdrawal of all illegal forces from the country, including the Turkish and American troops, which, according to all international laws and conventions, are occupying troops which the Syrian people have the right to resist by all possible means.   

The President made the remarks on Friday during his meeting with Russian President’s  special envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and the accompanying delegation.

Talks during the meeting dealt with developments in Syria, mainly in al-Jazira region in the light of the Turkish aggression, as well as preparations for holding the first meeting of the Constitutional committee.

 The Russian delegation reiterated Moscow’s firm support for Syria’s territorial integrity and its rejection of any procedures that violate the Syrian sovereignty, further complicate the situation and affect the efforts being exerted to end the war in Syria through eliminating the remaining terrorist hotbeds in the country and restoring the control of the Syrian government over all its territories including the bordering areas.

President Al-Assad and Lavrentiev expressed satisfaction over the preparations for holding the constitutional committee’s meeting and affirmed that the most important factor for the success of the constitutional committee is noninterference in its work based on the fact that drafting the constitution is a purely  Syrian issue that should be led by the Syrians only and should be the result of a Syrian-Syrian dialogue.

Hamda Mustafa