MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting that he is expecting progress in Syria's political settlement process and Russia's assistance in that, a statement on the Kremlin website said.
"At this stage, especially after we have won victories over the terrorists, we are definitely interested in boosting the political process," al-Assad told Putin. The Kremlin website posted a transcript of their conversation.
The situation on the ground and in the political field inspires hope for progress in the political process, al-Assad said. "We are counting on the support of Russia in order to ensure the non-interference of external actors in the political process and to do so that external forces do nothing but assist in the process to be conducted by the Syrians themselves," he said.
"We do not want to look back. We welcome everyone truly interested in the political settlement, and we are ready to conduct a dialogue with them," al-Assad said.