AFP, Damascus :
Damascus and a Russian delegation Monday discussed economic cooperation to help counter Western sanctions on Syria, during Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s first visit to the war-torn country since 2012.
Russia has been a key ally of the Damascus government since the start of the country’s war in 2011, providing critical military backing and signing several major economic deals.
Meeting a Russian delegation headed by Lavrov, President Bashar al-Assad said “the Syrian government was determined to continue working with Russian partners”, to implement signed agreements and encourage the “success of Russian investments in Syria”, the presidency said.
They discussed possible new agreements “in the interest of both countries and to alleviate the impact of a policy of sanctions” by Western countries against government-held areas of Syria, it added in a statement.
The Russian visit comes as Damascus struggles to redress a war-battered economy, further hindered by Western sanctions including under the US Caesar Act, implemented since mid-June.
Damascus and Moscow have signed several deals in recent years in energy, construction and agriculture.
They include one for Russian firm Stroytransgaz to take over Syria’s largest port of Tartous for 49 years.
