Assad: Russia is ‘re-establishing multipolar world’

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad delivered a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday when he said that Moscow had helped to re-establish “a multipolar world.”

"The important role that Russia is playing on the international scene is today making a clear contribution towards drawing up a new map for a multipolar world," Assad was quoted by state news agency SANA as saying.

Assad, meeting with a high-level Russian delegation in Damascus, has been politically, militarily and financially backed by Russia since Syria’s conflict broke out in March 2011.

The Syrian dictator previously expressed support for Moscow’s actions in Crimea, which drew widespread international condemnation, especially from the West and NATO.

Russia, Assad added, is helping "achieve international justice, in the interests of states and people who believe in their sovereignty and independent decision-making."

He "expressed appreciation for Russia's positions and for its support for Syria, and satisfaction with the level of cooperation... underway between the two friendly countries."

Syria has reiterated many times it believes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United States are behind “terrorist” plots targeting the country.

SANA said Assad made his comments Wednesday morning during a meeting with the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.

The Russian organization is headed by former Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, who was in Damascus to deliver a message from Putin.

According to SANA, the message "reaffirmed his country's determination to continue to support the Syrian people's resilience in all areas, in the face of the war it is waging against the international terrorism supported by some Western and regional countries."

Syria's war has killed more than 150,000 people and forced nearly half the population to flee their homes.

(With AFP)