3 senior Russian officials meet with Syria’s Assad to talk about ‘finally destroying’ terrorists

A Russian delegation has met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus to discuss the situation in the war-torn country and the fight against terrorism, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Friday meeting included the special presidential envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, and Defense Ministry officials. “The whole range of issues relating to the development of the situation in [Syria] was substantively considered. A firm commitment was confirmed to finally destroy the terrorist presence and make steady progress towards a long-term political settlement in the interests of all Syrians,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.