OREANDA-NEWS. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived on an unannounced visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Tuesday morning, September 14, releasing a photo of the meeting between the two presidents, which took place the night before. The main topic of the talks was the situation in Syria.

Putin again criticized the presence of foreign troops in Syria. According to him, these troops are in Syria without a UN mandate and without the consent of the government in Damascus, which, as he put it, is a violation of international law and prevents Syria from moving along the path of consolidation and reconstruction of the country.

The Russian President also pointed out that terrorists are still active in Syria, who control hotel areas and «terrorize civilians». At the same time, Putin noted that refugees are returning to those areas of Syria that are under the control of Assad.

There has been a civil war in Syria for ten years. Russia is an ally of the government in Damascus and, with it's consent, conducts military operations in Syria. Vladimir Putin said that joint efforts made it possible to achieve results and in this regard, in particular, he recalled the humanitarian assistance to Syria and the supplies of Russian anti-coronavirus vaccines Sputnik V and Sputnik Light to this country.

Bashar al-Assad, for his part, thanked Moscow for it's help. He expressed regret over the «political processes» that have reached an impasse and sharply criticized the international sanctions against Syria, calling them inhumane and illegal.