India, Syria hold talks on situation in war-torn country

India and Syria on Tuesday held wide-ranging talks, focusing largely on the internal situation in the war-torn country and the UN-backed peace process aimed at ending the strife, which has claimed the lives of over 2.5 lakh people in the last five years.

Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Walid al-Moualem, during talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, appreciated India for its support to the people of Syria and its position in finding a solution to the civil war.

Swaraj conveyed to Moualem, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs, that India was sending medicines worth $1 million to Syria soon. India will announce further assistance to the country during a conference on Syria in London on February 4.

She also sought Syria’s help in ascertaining the status of 39 Indians, who were taken hostage by ISIS militants from Iraqi city of Mosul in June 2014. Moualem assured Swaraj that he will use his sources in Iraq to know the whereabouts of the Indians.

The Syrian Deputy Prime Minister met National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Monday evening, in which challenge of combating terrorism, particularly to deal with ISIS, is understood to have figured.

Moualem, who visited Russia and China before arriving here on Monday, gave a detailed exposition of how Russian air strikes have weakened the capabilities of ISIS in Syria as well as about the UN-backed peace initiative.

“The Syrian Deputy Prime Minister appreciated India for its support to the people of Syria,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. India has been consistently maintaining that a solution to the conflict must be found through a Syrian-led peace initiative.

Russia has been carrying out air strikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad since September 2015, targeting ISIS which has seized large swathes of land in the country. India has been supportive of the Russian strikes maintaining that terror groups must be dealt with effectively.

The peace talks are slated for later this month and Moualem has already said that Syria was ready to participate in it.

The US, the UK and France are pressing for the ouster of the Syrian President to have a peaceful resolution of the conflict but Russia and China are against the move. 

During the talks, the Syrian side sought help from India in the form of supply of food and medicine.

It also sought early completion of Tishreen power project being implemented by Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BEHL). As part of Line of Credit, India has already given $100 million out of $240 million for the plant.

The Indian side said it was ready to complete the project if Syria can give assurance of security. BHEL and Syrian Ministry of Electricity are negotiating to resume the project.