The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed Russia's principled stance supporting the unconditional respect for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, and the legal right of Syrians to independently determine their country's future.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad today, Wednesday, where they discussed the outcomes of the Astana format meetings concerning Syria held in Sochi on February 16 and 17. The Russian Foreign Ministry indicated in a statement today that the two ministers exchanged views on the developments in Syria and its surroundings, focusing on the results of the Astana format meetings, and discussed tasks to enhance the political settlement based on UN Security Council Resolution No. 2254, including the work of the constitutional committee.
The ministry's statement emphasized Russia's principled position supporting the unconditional respect for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as the legal right of Syrians to independently determine their future. The two ministers strongly condemned the practice of using unilateral illegal sanctions and political methods in providing humanitarian aid to Syria, as well as the continued illegal foreign military presence on its territory.
Both parties affirmed their determination to gradually strengthen bilateral relations, including Russian assistance in combating manifestations of terrorism on Syrian territory, restoring social and economic infrastructure, combating the spread of COVID-19, and the return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons to their homeland.
The international meeting on Syria was held in Sochi on February 16 and 17, with the participation of delegations from the guarantor states, as well as international organizations, including the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, alongside delegations from the Syrian opposition and the government.
In a related context, the official Syrian news agency "SANA" reported that "in line with the Syrian state's commitment to free its citizens from Israeli occupation prisons through all possible means and costs, efforts are underway to liberate Syrian citizens from the occupied Golan Heights from Israeli prisons."
According to sources, the exchange process is currently taking place through Russian mediation to free the Syrians Nihal al-Maqd and Ziyab Qahmouz from the occupied Golan Heights in an exchange that involves the release of an Israeli girl who mistakenly entered Syrian territory in the Quneitra area and was arrested by Syrian authorities. No comment has been issued from Moscow on these reports so far.
For its part, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club announced today that Israel decided to release the Syrian prisoner Ziyab Qahmouz as part of a prisoner exchange between Syria and Israel, mediated by Russia. The Club stated that "the occupation prison administration summoned today the Syrian prisoner Ziyab Qahmouz, who is from the village of Ghajar in the occupied Golan, detained since 2016 and sentenced to 14 years in prison, to inform him of the decision to release him to Syria as part of an agreement made between Syria and the occupation, with Russian mediation."
The Prisoners' Club clarified that "negotiations are currently ongoing about whether he will be transferred to Syria or to his village of Ghajar in the occupied Golan, where the prisoner insists on being released to his village." The Club added that "the administration of the 'Negev' prison summoned Qahmouz this morning to inform him of the decision to free him as part of the exchange deal, but he refused that, insisting on returning to his village, and went back to where he remains in Negev desert prison."
