Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Monday he wanted to expand business ties with Russia to help Syria cope with new US sanctions on its already crippled economy that threaten to undermine military gains Damascus achieved with Moscow's help.
Assad spoke during a meeting in Damascus with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
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Lavrov told a news conference Syria needed international help to rebuild its economy. Borisov said Russia was helping Syria to fix its power plants but said oil output could not resume as the fields were in areas outside government control.
Syria and Russia, whose military support since 2015 helped Damascus reverse gains by Islamists and other rebels in an almost decade-long war, had said the two sides planned to boost trade ties and would review energy, mining and power projects.
"The government is determined to continue to work with Russian allies to implement signed agreements and to ensure the success of Russian investments in Syria," Assad said, according to state media.
Borisov said Moscow had presented proposals in July to expand economic ties and expected an agreement would be sealed in December on his next visit to Syria's capital. He said Moscow wanted to help Damascus break the blockade of US sanctions.
With the help of Russia as well as regional ally Iran and its proxy, the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, Assad has largely succeeded in crushing the armed rebellion against him. The rebels are confined to the northern Idlib province, where a truce has been in place for months.
Western diplomats say Russia's military involvement in Syria has secured Moscow major regional influence and a bigger foothold in a naval base in Syria's Tartus port.
"Russia turned the tide for Assad and with the regime now facing its gravest challenges, Moscow is in a better position than any other time to further squeeze Assad," said one Western diplomat who follows Syria.
But Syria has been ruined, the economy has spiraled out of control, its currency has lost 80% of its value and the country remains divided. Turkey-backed forces control a sliver of territory along the border, and US-backed Kurdish forces control an oil-rich area in the northeast.
"We have to admit that most of the areas rich in oil and gas are outside the control of the Syrian government," Borisov said. "This fact prevents the Syrian government from trading in oil, given that it is an important source of revenue."
"The same applies to agricultural lands," he added. "After Syria used to export grain, it now imports it. ... This harms food security."
Lavrov also criticized US and Western sanctions on Syria, which took effect in June under the so-called Caesar Act, saying they are "trying to strangle the Syrian people."
The Syrian pro-government Al-Watan newspaper earlier quoted Syria's ambassador to Russia, Riad Haddad, as saying that the Russian delegation's visit "is of special importance, given the political and economic files that will be discussed."
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