Assad, Russian officials discuss reconstruction

Damascus, Dec 18 (IANS/AKI) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks here on Monday with Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Russian officials which focused on rebuilding war-ravaged Syria and fighting terrorism, reports said.

The continuous victories achieved in the fight against terrorism (the government's term for armed rebel groups) in Syria provide the necessary conditions for accelerating the reconstruction of many areas of the country, said Assad, state-run news agency Sana reported.

The process of rebuilding offers "wide economic prospects and further opportunities for cooperation between Syria and Russia", it quoted him as saying.

Rogozin underlined "the significant progress in Syrian-Russian economic cooperation and the efforts exerted by the Syrian-Russian Joint Committee for expanding this cooperation further to benefit the peoples of the two countries," Sana reported.

The Russian delegation also included the Deputy Foreign, Economic Development, Energy, Transport, Industry and Trade Ministers, as well as Russia's Ambassador to Syria and directors of prominent Russian companies, according to Sana.

Syria's Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem attended the meeting along with the country's Finance, Petroleum, Electricity and Transport Ministers and other senior officials, said Sana.