Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received letter from Pope Francis

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday received a letter from Pope Francis, delivered by Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

In his letter, the Pope reiterated his support for restoring stability in Syria and ending the suffering of the Syrian people caused by war and what resulted from it.

Talks during the meeting with Cardinal Turkson and the accompanuying delegation focused on recent devleopments in Syria, with President al-Assad pointing out to the crimes and attacks against civilians that are still being committed by terrorists from the areas where they are based, particularly in Idleb, as well as the support that is still being sent to terrorist organizations by some regional and Western countries.

The talks also touched on political efforts and how to support them, with President al-Assad stressing that the most important thing that can be done to help the Syrian people is pressuring the states which support terrorists, seek to prolong the war, and impose sanctions on the Syrian people, so that these states would change this approach and move towards bolstering peace and stability instead.

The meeting was attended by Fr. Nicola Riccardi, O.F.M., Under-Secretary of the Dicastery, and Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria.