BEIRUT, March 16. /TASS/. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Bashar Assad of Syria held talks in Moscow to discuss a wide range of political and economic issues, the office of the Syrian president reported on Wednesday.
"During the extensive talks, President Bashar Assad discussed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a wide spectrum of political and economic matters, bilateral relations, cooperation in various spheres, as well as the recent developments in the regional and international arenas," it said.
Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told TASS after the talks that the meeting between the two presidents had lasted for three hours.