Putin Calls Assad to Congratulate on Aleppo Liberation
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russian President Vladimir Putin called Syria's Bashar Assad Friday to congratulate him on completing the liberation of Aleppo, the Kremlin said.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin phoned the Syrian President Bashar Assad and congratulated him with the end of the operation of liberation of Aleppo from fighters," it said in a statement.
"This success was possible thanks to mutual efforts of all who came together in the fight with international terrorism in Syria," it said, AFP reported.
Putin last called Assad in March, according to the Kremlin.
The statement added that Putin "underlined that the main task remains to focus efforts on issues pertaining to the ... resolution of the Syrian crisis."
Earlier, Putin hailed Aleppo's liberation, calling it a "very important part of the normalization in Syria", saying the next step would be "conclusion of a cease-fire agreement on all of Syria's territory."