A senior Russian official on Tuesday paid a visit to Syria over the "dangerous developments" in the Gaza Strip due to continuing Israeli "brutal aggression," the official SANA news agency reported.
Alexander Sultanov, Russian President's Special Envoy for the Middle Eastern Affairs, held talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on the Gaza escalation, said the report.
They reviewed international and regional efforts, including the role that could be played by Russia to stop the Israeli aggression and withdraw the occupation forces, it added.
The two sides also discussed means to lift the siege imposed on the strip and open all crossing points, including Rafah terminal on the border with Egypt, to allow the flow of medical and human needs to reach the Palestinian people.
"My country exerts intensified efforts to find a way out of this tragedy," Sultanov said, adding that "talks held during a latest phone call between President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev were very important to activate efforts aiming at halting the Israeli aggression."
Also on Tuesday, Assad received a phone call from Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently presides over the European Union, over the Gaza situation.
Assad called on Europe in the telephone conversation to exercise the utmost possible pressure on Israel to stop the "massacres and war crimes" it has been perpetrating against the Palestinian people, and to withdraw from the strip and lift the unjust siege, SANA said.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the British All-Party Parliamentary Group also paid a visit to Syria on Tuesday during which they held talks with Vice President Farouk al-Shara and Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash on the Gaza developments, according to SANA.
Over 600 Palestinians have been killed and 2,700 others injured since Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 27.
Source:Xinhua
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