MOSCOW, SANA-Russian political and media circles continue to highlight President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Russia which is scheduled to start Wednesday.

Chairman of the Nationalities Committee at the Russia Duma Valentine Kobtsov welcomed President al-Assad's visit to Russia , pointing out that the discussions which President al-Assad will hold with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev will be fruitful and yield positive outcomes in the interest of the two countries.

In a statement to SANA, Kobtsov said" the standing cooperation and friendship relations between the two countries still constitute an important factor for stability in the Middle East".

 He pointed out that the visit acquires extraordinary dimensions due to the latest developments in the world, particularly in the Middle East and Caucasus, adding that the Syrian-Russian summit gains importance not only in its bilateral dimension but also on the international level.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Russian Geopolitical Academy Leonid Ivashov said that "the first Syrian-Russian summit between Presidents al-Assad and Medvedev will push cooperation between the two countries forward", hailing Syria's role in realizing security and stability in the region.

In a similar statement to SANA, Ivashov said the Syrian foreign policy was distinguished by wisdom and aims at enhancing Syria's position in the international family, expressing hope that the current summit will increase cooperation with Syria in all domains.

 For his part, Deputy Director of Orientalism of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Iysayv highlighted the importance of President al-Assad's visit to Russia as it will consolidate the relations between the two countries in light of the new circumstances in the world.

He expressed his country's support to Syria regarding the restoration of occupied Syrian Golan and achieving the just and comprehensive peace in the ME.

He indicated that President al-Assad's previous visits to Russia gave positive outcomes, particularly settling the file of the Syrian debts to Russia which contributed in improving the relations between the two countries and opened wide prospects for the Russian investments in the Syrian economy and activated the role of businessmen in the two countries in establishing big investment projects.

H.Zain Zahra