Putin says discussed preparations for Syrian National Dialogue Congress with Syria’s president

ANKARA, December 11. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he had discussed possible convening of a Syrian National Dialogue Congress in early 2018 with Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier in the day. Putin said after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the situation in Syria, where "practically the entire territory has been liberated" from terrorists had been among the topics discussed at the talks. "In case seats of terrorists’ resistance emerge, we will take efficient measures in response," he warned. "Political settlement in Syria is now on the agenda. The trilateral meeting between the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey on November 22 yielded agreements on that matter and now we should take steps to implement them. Thus, we are conducting joint work to prepare and convene the Syrian National Dialogue Congress at the beginning of the next year," he said, adding that this forum is to discuss "such issues of paramount importance for the entire Syrian people as parameters of the future state system, adoption of a new constitution and organization of the United Nations-monitored elections on its basis." "It is a secret to no one that I spoke about it with President Assad during my today’s visit to Syria," he said. "As guarantor nations of the Astana process, we continue to work on strengthening the ceasefire, ensuring sustainable operation of the de-escalation zones, building trust between the parties to the conflict," Putin stressed. According to the Russia leader, they agreed with the Turkish president "to continue close coordination in the context of preparations for the eighth international meeting on Syria in Astana due to be held in late December." He hailed Turkey’s and President Erdogan’s positive contribution to reconciliation efforts in Syria. Touching on bilateral relations, Putin said he sees good prospects for military technical cooperation with Turkey. "We see significant prospects for expansion of cooperation in the military-technical sphere. We finalized the credit agreement during today’s work and I hope it will be signed in the soonest possible time," he noted. Read more