Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed his country’s commitment to continuing to develop the friendly relations and cooperation with Syria and the continued support to Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. The Russian President also expressed hope that through the joint efforts in the next year, it will be possible to achieve the return of permanent peace to the Syrian territories. On Monday, Putin and Syrian President Bashar Assad have exchanged cables of congratulation on the occasion of the New Year, in which they affirmed the necessity to develop the bilateral relations to serve the interests of the two countries. In his cable, Assad conveyed heartfelt congratulations to Putin and the Russian friendly people, wishing that the New Year would be full of progress and prosperity for their country. Sana news agency said the President also expressed the Syrians’ deep thanks for all the efforts exerted by the Russian Federation and in all domains for supporting the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and for helping the Syrian people to get rid of the evil of terrorism and to be able to live again in peace and security and to rebuild what has been destroyed by this terrorism. He also hoped that the bilateral relations would be further upgraded so as to achieve the best interest of the two friendly countries and peoples.