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Fate of Middle East must only be decided by its people: Syria’s Assad

Sunday, 14 April 2019 3:07 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 14 April 2019 3:13 PM ]

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets with Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayad in Damascus, Syria, on April 14, 2019. (Photo by SANA)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the fate of the Middle East must only be determined by regional nations rather than outsiders, no matter how grave the crises they are grappling with might be.

“The fate of the region must only be determined by the peoples of the region no matter how big the challenges become,” Assad said during a meeting with visiting Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayad in Damascus on Sunday.

The Syrian leader then emphasized that the promotion of bilateral relations between Syria and Iraq will serve the interests of the two brotherly nations, and will help the complete annihilation of terrorism.

PressTV-Iran, Iraq, Syria bound by battlefield blood: Assad

Syrian president says cooperation among his country, Iran, and Iraq in anti-terror struggle has further strengthened their ties.

The Syrian president further emphasized that Damascus and Baghdad must preserve their sovereignty and independence in the face of regional and international developments as well as divisive schemes being hatched by outsiders.

Fayad, for his part, stated that Iraq regards Syria’s might and victory over terrorism as its own, and that any Iraqi military achievement will be in the best interest of Syria’s stability.

Iraq and Syria have been lately discussing the opening of border crossings between the two countries as well as the efforts made to hunt down remnants of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in border areas.

PressTV-Iraqi forces capture 13 French Daesh terrorists in Syria

The Iraqi intelligence service has arrested 13 French citizens affiliated with the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in an operation inside neighboring Syria.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

Former Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, declared the end of military operations against Daesh in the country on December 9, 2017.

On July 10 that year, he had formally declared victory over Daesh in the strategic northern city of Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in Iraq.

In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) – better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi – had made sweeping gains against Daesh.

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