President al-Assad warns of western-backed extremism for the region’s unity
President Bashar al-Assad warned of the dangers of terrorism and extremism backed by the West and some countries in the region.
President al-Assad cautioned, during a meeting Thursday with an Armenian parliamentary delegation, that this extremist ideology poses a threat of fragmenting the region that has been historically characterized by cultural and social diversity.
The delegation, headed by MP Samvel Farmanyan, conveyed to President al-Assad a message from President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia in which the latter expressed on his and his people’s behalf condemnation of terrorist groups attacks backed by Turkey against Kassab city in Lattakia countryside.
The Armenian President expressed in his message thanks to Syria for the efforts it is exerting to protect all its citizens.
President al-Assad voiced during the meeting his appreciation of the objective position of President Sargsyan that is supportive of Syria’s stability, highlighting the role parliamentarians could play in revealing threats of terrorism and extremism at international forums and unifying efforts to face these threats.
For their part, the Armenian parliamentarians affirmed their full support for what the Syria is doing to restore security and stability to the country and its efforts to secure the return of people who have been displaced from Kassab and other areas to their houses and home villages.
They also voiced confidence that Syria will remain as always a model of co-existence and national unity.
Later, a meeting was held between Speaker of the People’s Assembly Mohammad Jihad al-Laham and the Armenian delegation, during which al-Laham stressed the need for the unification of parliamentary efforts to form a front to stand in the face of extremist takfiri thinking and cement parliamentary relations between Syria and Armenia.
The Armenian figures, in turn, called upon Syria’s neighboring countries to play an efficacious positive role in supporting a peaceful solution in Syria and not vice versa.
Armenian Ambassador in Damascus and a number of members of the People’s Assembly’s Arab and Foreign Affairs Committee attended the meeting.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi also met with the Armenian delegation and stressed the Syrian government’s keenness to provide protection for and livelihood and service requirements of its people.
The Premier affirmed that the Armenians in Syria are an essential part of the components of the Syrian people and are accorded respect for their contribution to the construction of their country.
The Armenian delegation members expressed denunciation of the scenes of killing and criminality they saw in Kassab committed by the terrorist groups that are backed by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
