DAMASCUS: Syrian leader Bashar Assad said on Monday he wanted to expand business ties with Russia to help his country cope with new US sanctions on its already crippled economy that threaten to undermine military gains Damascus achieved with Moscow’s help.
Assad spoke during a meeting in Damascus with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov told a news conference Syria needed international help to rebuild its economy.
Borisov said Russia was helping Syria to fix its power plants but said oil output could not resume as the fields were in areas outside government control.
Syria and Russia, whose military support since 2015 helped Damascus reverse gains by militants in an almost decade-long war, had said the two sides planned to boost trade ties and would review energy, mining and power projects.
The regime “was determined to continue to work with Russian allies to implement signed agreements and to ensure the success of Russian investments in Syria,” Assad said.
Borisov said Moscow had presented proposals in July to expand economic ties and expected an agreement would be sealed in December on his next visit to Damascus.
He said Moscow wanted to help Damascus break the blockade of US sanctions.
Syria has pinned hopes on Russia while Western diplomats say Russia’s military involvement in Syria has secured Moscow major regional influence.
“Russia turned the tide for Assad and with the regime now facing its gravest challenges, Moscow is in a better position than any other time to further squeeze Assad,” said one Western diplomat who follows Syria.
Although Assad has now regained most of the territory he had lost in the war, the economy is in tatters, leaving many Syrians in poverty as the currency has lost 80 percent of its value.
Russia has criticized the new US sanctions that took effect in June under the so-called Caesar Act.
Washington says the sanctions, which penalize foreign firms dealing with Syrian regime entities, aim to cut revenue for Assad’s government and push him back into UN-led talks to end the conflict.
Assad seeks Russian investment as US sanctions hammer economy
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Assad seeks Russian investment as US sanctions hammer economy
- The visit by Sergey Lavrov comes amid a severe economic crisis in Syria and the coronavirus pandemic
- President Vladimir Putin has visited the war-torn country twice
Bridge over Euphrates reconnects Syrian villages in Deir Ezzor
- Temporary crossing will aid movement for people of Marat, al-Mari’iyah
- Many bridges were destroyed during Syria’s civil war
LONDON: Syria’s Defense Ministry has opened a temporary bridge over the Euphrates River to ease people’s movement and reconnect villages in eastern Deir Ezzor.
The Syrian army took control of the region from the Syrian Democratic Forces earlier this month.
Deir Ezzor Gov. Ghassan al-Sayyed Ahmad and Brig. Gen. Ahmad Mohammad al-Jassem, commander of the army’s 66th Division, supervised the opening of the bridge, which links Marat and al-Mari’iyah.
Bridges along the Euphrates in eastern Syrian Arab Republic are vital for connecting communities. During the civil war, many were destroyed by militias, forcing residents to rely on boats to cross the river.
Officials said the project was part of broader initiatives to restore infrastructure and improve living conditions in regions affected by years of conflict, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
On Monday, Syrian authorities reopened Al-Mansour Bridge in Raqqa after completing rehabilitation work. About 60 bridges were destroyed between 2014 and 2017, when the city was under the control of Daesh, which regarded it as its capital.
