Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stressed Monday the importance of dialogue among the state’s parties in order to reach a sound political environment.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stressed Monday the importance of dialogue among the state's parties in order to reach a sound political environment.

During his meeting with Baath party figures - Damascus branch, Assad pointed out to the importance of the Syrian capital Damascus, which is featured by preserving the Islamic and Christian inheritance together, thus presenting a model of modern openness.

"Damascus played a major role in Syria's steadfastness during a three-year crisis," the Syrian President indicated.

He also stressed the need for dialogue and effective and constructive communication with the new parties in Syria, in order to identify future mechanisms of sound communication.

"We are facing great challenges emerged by the crisis and the first one is to confront the extremist ideology which tries to penetrate the society," he stated.

"We also have unprecedented serious intellectual vacuum... Our duty is to deal with it," Assad went on to say, adding that "Without dialogue we cannot develop neither the party (Baath) nor the country."

President Assad assured that the popular support of terrorism is shrinking while reconciliation circle is being widened, and it is the most effective way to fight off the project of defeating Syria."