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Top Syrian diplomat says country’s relations with Russia enter new stage

According to Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria "seeks to forge balanced relations with all states"

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Syria-Russia relations are entering a new stage, Damascus seeks to forge balanced relations with all countries, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said during talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"Today, the Russia-Syria relations enter a new stage," he pointed out. According to the top diplomat, Syria "seeks to forge balanced relations with all states."

According to al-Shaibani, Damascus managed to achieve significant successes in various fields over the past year. "First and foremost, this year marked the end of a 14-year war," he pointed out. "The biggest success we've achieved is lifting sanctions from Syria. We are now busy reconstructing the country," the top diplomat added.

"In addition, we've managed to curb drug trafficking over the past year. Now, we are trying to attract investment to boost employment," the foreign minister pointed out. "This is also one of the topics of our bilateral cooperation," he concluded.

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