Putin, Assad talk by phone for 1st time in two years
NOVO-OGARYOVO, near Moscow. Nov 14 (Interfax) - The Russian and Syrian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, on Thursday had their first telephone conversation in two years, Putin's spokesman said.
"For the past two years, at least, there have been no conversations. I mean there have been no conversations in the period the war has been going on," Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The tasks for Thursday's call were "to point out the positive implementation of agreements on the chemical arsenals, mention the satisfaction of international organizations with the fulfillment of all the commitments, and discuss the Geneva II issue," Peskov said.
It was unclear when the two presidents would talk next, the spokesman said. "Today is a very important moment," he said.
He cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying putting off Geneva II, a planned international conference on Syria, is leading to new civilian deaths and suffering in the Arab country. "So now is the time when everything must be concentrated on organizing this conference," Peskov said.
