"Russia is on our side not only in the fight against terrorism, but also in achieving the national reconciliation, providing humanitarian and medical aid to Syria. This allowed the Syrians to evince resilience, counter and defeat terrorism. We hope that this aid and cooperation will be continued in the future in order to achieve military victory on the one hand, and to restore and build our homeland on the other," Diab said.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition and terrorist groups, such as the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and Daesh, both outlawed in Russia.
On December 16, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Aleppo, previously split into the government-held western part and the eastern one controlled by the militants, was under full government control with the Syrian army operation to retake the eastern districts completed.
The evacuations from the city continue, with some 40,000 people, including militants, having already left the city since the beginning of a humanitarian operation a week ago.
