Syria’s Assad says terrorists' plot has failed, vows resistance until final victory

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the terrorists’ plot in Syria has failed, stressing that the country will not rest until the full restoration of security to the entire Syrian territory.

The Syrian president made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari in Damascus on Wednesday.

Assad said victories made by the Syrian forces and their allies have changed the global attitude towards the Syrian crisis and forced those countries that supported terrorists to change their policies.

He highlighted efforts made by Iran and other friendly countries to support the Syrian people in their resistance and fight against terrorism.

The Syrian president also praised the support of the Iranian leadership and nation for Syria in its fight against terrorism and underlined the need for Tehran and Damascus to remain vigilant and improve coordination at the current juncture.

During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat, who arrived in Damascus on Wednesday, briefed Assad on the diplomatic efforts made by Tehran and its negotiations with various regional and international sides with respect to the developments in Syria.

The two sides also exchanged views on the process of the Astana talks aimed at resolving the crisis in the Arab country.

Jaberi Ansari, who heads Iran’s delegation to the Astana talks, also emphasized the need for close consultations between Iran and Syria.

Astana has hosted five rounds of peace talks on Syria since January. Russia, Iran, and Turkey serve as guarantor states in the peace process. The negotiations are aimed at bringing an end to the foreign-backed militancy in Syria, which began in March 2011.

In a Tuesday Facebook post, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said the next round of the Syria talks in the Kazakh capital may be held in mid-September.

Earlier this month, United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura also hoped for a “serious negotiation” between the Damascus government and the opposition in October or November.

The UN has previously organized seven rounds of almost unsuccessful talks between the Syrian government and foreign-backed opposition since a devastating war began in the Arab country.

Separately on Wednesday, Jaberi Ansari also held talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem.

During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat praised the purging of the terrorist groups of Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham from Syria’s mountainous region of Qalamoun as a great achievement by the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement.  

Jaberi Ansari expressed satisfaction with the restoration of relative stability in Damascus and other parts of the country.

For his part, Muallem praised Iran’s support for the Syrian government and nation.

He said the developments on the battlefield have forced all the countries that were supporting the terrorists to change their calculations.

On August 19, the Lebanese military launched an anti-terror operation on the Syrian border. Hezbollah and the Syrian army also started a simultaneous offensive against Daesh in Qalamoun region.

Daesh had lost much of their mountainous enclave straddling the border between Syria and Lebanon since the two offensives began on opposite sides of the frontier.

On Monday, Daesh militants and their families started to evacuate Qalamoun, and head towards the eastern part of Syria as part of a negotiated deal to end the extremists’ presence there.

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