Al-Assad: the Roadmap does not include the Syrian track

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad received yesterday the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and an accompanying delegation.

Talks during the meeting dealt with the situation in the region including the situation in Iraq.

Talks also dealt with the Roadmap and the peace process where the two sides stressed the importance of the European role in supporting the peace process in the face of challenges attributed to the Israeli position on peace.

President al-Assad said that the peace process on the Syrian track has nothing to do with presented Roadmap, but it depends on "Madrid Council's terms of reference," the international resolutions, and the "land for peace principle."

President al-Assad expressed Syria's desire to move toward a just and comprehensive peace in the region. The two sides reviewed the standing relations between the two countries and ways of boosting and developing these relations in various fields.

The two sides agreed on the continuation of communications and consultations between their two countries. Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov arrived on Tuesday in a visit to Syria. Ivanov was received by Foreign Minister, Farouk al-Shara and a number of senior officials