MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday held his first telephone talks with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in two years, applauding Damascus for its willingness to attend a peace conference and destroy its chemical weapons, the Kremlin said.
Putin “positively assessed” the readiness of Assad’s government to send a delegation to planned peace talks in Geneva and “expressed satisfaction” with Damascus’s cooperation in the destruction of its chemical weapons arsenal, the Kremlin said in a statement.
It said that in the conversation “the hope was expressed that the main opposition groups will show a constructive approach and take part” in the Geneva conference.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian side had initiated the call because “right now we are entering a very crucial moment.”
In Damascus, twin bombings and mortar fire killed three people and wounded 22 near the Syrian capital’s famed Ummayad mosque yesterday, state news agency SANA reported.
The attacks took place on Mardam Bek Street and in the Kalassa district, near the outskirts of the historic mosque and the bustling Hamidiyeh market.
AFP
