Syrian president stresses need for international anti-terror coalition

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday underscored the need for establishing an international coalition to combat terrorism, official SANA news agency reported. Speaking to a visiting Russian religious and parliamentarian delegation, Assad stressed the importance of strictly confronting the religious extremist movements, and the need for an international coalition to strike terrorism as well as an Islamic alliance to face radical mindset. The Syrian administration says it's fighting radical groups affiliated with al-Qaida and other jihadist-linked individuals. Moreover, it has been stressing that combating terrorism is the prelude to any political solution to the country's three-year-old crisis. On Saturday, Assad warned that the terrorism in Syria is a threat to the entire region. Meanwhile, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi, speaking Sunday to a Western parliamentarian delegation, affirmed the need for European and Western lawmakers to pressure their governments to stop supporting the "terrorists" in Syria.