President Assad, Oman FM meet in Damascus

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has met with Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah in Damascus, with efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis topping the agenda of their talks, a report says.

The meeting took place on Monday in the Syrian capital, where both sides also discussed bilateral relations and plans to continue cooperation aimed at increasing fraternal relations among their countries, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported.

President Assad and the Omani diplomat further discussed developments in the Middle East, the fight against terrorist groups in Syria as well as regional and international proposals to resolve the four-and-a-half year conflict in Syria.

President Assad hailed Muscat’s position towards Syria and its efforts to help end the Syrians’ suffering caused by foreign-backed militancy and terrorist groups.

In August, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem paid a visit to Muscat and discussed efforts to end the conflict in Syria with Omani officials.

Also on Sunday, President Assad met with a Russian parliamentary delegation in Damascus. During the meeting, Assad thanked Russia for its aerial campaign against the Takfiri militants and said the ongoing fight against terrorism in Syria would determine the future of the Middle East and that a victory over terrorism will safeguard all regional states.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and left over one million injured, according to the United Nations.

The world body says 12.2 million people, including more than 5.6 million children, remain in need of humanitarian assistance. The crisis has displaced 7.6 million people.