President al-Assad stressed the Syrian government‘s keenness on carrying out its constitutional duty of protecting its citizens, regardless of their race and religion, from the crimes of the takfiri groups that target their homes, schools and places pf worship with terrorist bombings or arbitrary shelling.

During the meeting, Archbishop Parolin said his holiness is constantly following the situation in Syria and is deeply concerned over the suffering of the Syrian people, adding that Pope Francis affirms the need to solve the crisis in Syria through dialogue among the Syrians without foreign intervention.