Russia pledges to continue to help Syria combat terrorism

Russia will continue to help Syria combat international terrorism, said Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian president's special representative for the Middle East and Africa.

He made the pledge during talks with Syrian Ambassador in Moscow Riyad Haddad, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Special attention was paid to the situation in the north of the country, also in the framework of Russian military operations against targets of the Islamic State and of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, a Salafist jihadist terrorist organization, said the ministry.

Riad Haddad, Syrian ambassador to Moscow Photo: AP

It is also declared that Russia will progress toward the political settlement of the Syrian crisis in the framework of international law on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

Since Sept. 30, 2015, Russia warplanes have conducted airstrikes in Syria, and in March 2016, President Vladimir Putin decided to withdraw the main part of its air force.

(APD)