Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad Tuesday afternoon, seeking to strengthen long-term traditional ties.

"Syria is a country with which the Soviet Union and today's Russia has specially very warm relations," Putin said while opening talks with Assad in the Kremlin, Interfax news agency reported.

Putin said that Russian-Syrian relations were based on decades-old traditions of friendship and mutual understanding.

However, there was a "very long pause" in top-level contacts between the two countries, Putin regretted, saying that not a single Syrian leader has visited Moscow since the early 1990s.

The Russian leader pointed out that bilateral relations and the need to exchange information on the situation in the Middle East desperately called for such contacts.

Putin expressed his confidence about the development of relations with Syria, saying that "the warm relationship of friendship between our countries has survived and has good prospects."

The Russian president pledged to "move along the path of development of mutual cooperation and make all efforts, together with other partners, to settle the situation in the Middle East as a whole."

Russia and Syria support the political process in Iraq and should work together on the implementation of projects to develop Iraq's post-war economy and social infrastructure, said Putin.

Assad said that the purpose of his four-day state visit is "the development of our relations."

The Syrian president noted that Russia is a very influential country in the international arena, and both countries always share views and coordinated positions and interests in the world affairs.

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Moscow agreed to write off 73 percent of Syria's 13.4-billion-dollar Soviet-era debt, most of which was to pay for arms purchases.

Putin considered it a mutually acceptable resolution to Syria's debt that the country was not able to afford, saying the decision creates conditions for long-term cooperation.

A protocol on alleviate Syria's debt to Russia is likely to be signed on Wednesday, when Assad is due to meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Summing up their talks, Putin and Assad signed a joint declaration on further development of bilateral relations, which Putin believed will open up "extra opportunities for business relations and cultural exchanges."

The two countries will develop the traditional partnership in arms trade while giving priorities to the development of energy, transportation and some other sectors of mutual interests.

Both sides agree in the declaration that "the world order of the 21st century should be based on the priority of international law, taking into account the interests of all states" and the United Nations should play a central role in coordinating international problems.

The declaration condemns terrorism and calls for the world community's efforts to actively fight the challenge to mankind.

Delegations of both sides on Tuesday also signed five agreements on economic cooperation, including building a joint enterprise producing basalt-plastic pipes, developing international automobile highways, and stimulating and protecting investments.