“If military actions cease and the situation becomes stable in Syria, Russian companies that have frozen their work because of the civil war will be ready to renew their activity within a short period of time in realizing projects that were signed before the crisis with an overall amount of no less than $1.6 billion,” Gissa Guchetl said in an interview.
Last week, Guchetl had a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi and Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Suleiman Abbas in Damascus, during which the Syrian side expressed interest in Russian extraction companies supplying crude oil and other oil products to Syria. The sides also discussed cooperation with Russian and Chinese companies to boost extraction in national fields located in Syrian-government-controlled safe areas.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011 as government forces loyal to President Assad fight several opposition and radical Islamist militant groups, including Nusra Front and Islamic State.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Syrian conflict has claimed at least 320,000 lives and made over 12 million homeless.
