The presidents of Russia and Iran on Monday pledged “unconditional support” to Syrian President Bashar-al Assad amid a shock opposition offensive in the country’s northwest, the Kremlin said.
In a phone call between Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian, the pair “expressed unconditional support for the actions of Syria’s legitimate authorities to restore constitutional order and territorial sovereignty,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
They also “emphasized the importance” of coordinating with Turkey, the Russian side said in its readout of the call.
Iran and Russia have been al-Assad’s main backers since Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011.
The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that it continued to al-Assad after the Syrian president spoke of the “importance” of his allies in facing an opposition offensive that saw the Syrian government lose control of Aleppo.
“We of course continue to support Bashar al-Assad and we continue contacts at the appropriate levels, we are analyzing the situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, adding that Russia would draw up a “position on what is necessary to stabilize the situation.”
Iran, which has sent thousands of fighters to Syria since the conflict broke out, said on Monday that it planned to keep its military “advisors” in Syria.
