Assad meets with UN aid chief to talk relief

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Monday and discussed the country's need for assistance, according to Syrian state media agency Sana.

Sana reported that the two talked about "urgent" humanitarian needs following the earthquake, which has killed more than 3,000 people in Syria.

"President al-Assad affirmed the need for bringing in the urgent aid to all areas in Syria including those that are subjected to occupation and the dominance of the armed terrorist groups," Sana reported.

"The president also stressed the necessity for the international efforts to concentrate on reconstructing infrastructure in Syria as this issue is an urgent need for the stability of the Syrian people and the return of Syrian refugees to their cities and regions," Sana reported.

Earlier on Monday, the UN official said that the international body would help move aid from government-controlled regions in Syria to the rebel-held northwest of the country.

"We'll have assistance moving from here to the northwest. But the northwest is only one part of Syria as you know,” Griffiths said.