Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered his condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin, reaffirming their shared commitment to triumph over terrorism and Nazism, following a recent terrorist attack near Moscow.
In a telephone conversation on Saturday, Assad assured Putin of Russia’s eventual triumph over terrorism and Nazism, emphasizing that the recent attack underscored the need to eradicate terrorist elements completely.
Assad stated that the terrorist attack in Moscow demonstrates that terrorist operations persist unless the terrorists are eradicated. He likened the Daesh terrorist group to “the cousin of Nazism”.
Assad said it is not the first time that Russia has faced terrorism and it has always emerged victorious.
Expressing solidarity, Assad remarked, “We are confident that Russia will emerge victorious from this terrible experience, and we in Syria are waiting for its victory because we have suffered and continue to suffer from terrorism, and the victory over terrorism and Nazism will compensate for the damage caused.”
In response, President Putin thanked Assad for his expression of sympathy and Syria’s unwavering support in combating terrorism. Putin emphasized the importance of unity in achieving their shared goal of defeating terrorism, stating, “When we are united, our goal will be achieved, and victory will be won.”
Meanwhile, Russian authorities reported that 11 individuals, including the four gunmen responsible for the attack, had been apprehended. Putin condemned the attackers, asserting, “all the perpetrators, organizers and those who ordered this crime will be justly and inevitably punished.”
The Russian investigative authorities did not name any suspected organizers behind the attack. Neither have they signaled any links between the primary suspects and any extremist groups or outside forces, except for some Ukrainian “contacts” that were supposedly ready to aid them with crossing into Ukraine, according to the FSB.
Some Western media, including Reuters and CNN, reported that Daesh (ISIS, or ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist group also allegedly published a photo of the four suspects posing against the backdrop of an ISIS flag. The photo, which has since been shared by some media, shows four men wearing baseball caps with their faces covered. Moscow has not commented on the claims.
Putin vowed to identify and punish all those involved in orchestrating the attack, declaring, “We will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, who prepared this atrocity, this strike against Russia, against our people.”
Source: Tasnim
