Vladimir Putin denies Russia’s defeat in Syria

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Vladimir Putin denied that Moscow had suffered defeat in Syria, saying that regardless of the implosion of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Kremlin had achieved its targets within the nation.

At a marathon annual press convention, the Russian president downplayed Moscow’s function in Syriadenying the significance of the army help it has supplied for years to prop up the Assad regime.

“I guarantee you that’s not the case.” Poutine mentioned when requested if Assad’s flight to Moscow earlier this month represented a setback. “We got here to Syria ten years in the past to forestall a terrorist enclave from establishing itself there. . . Total, we achieved our aims.

Russia rushed to evacuate a whole bunch of troopers and embassy employees from Damascus after Syrian insurgent forces swept via the nation inside days. The way forward for its two principal army bases in Syria is now unsure.

Russia launched a large-scale and expensive intervention within the Syrian civil conflict in 2015, deploying hundreds of troops and big air help to show the tide of the battle in Assad’s favor.

However on Thursday, Putin claimed that Russia had “by no means fought” in Syria and had no troops on the bottom there, though it has two giant, strategically necessary army bases in Hmeimim and Tartus.

As 350 armed rebels superior on Aleppo, “the bottom element consisted of Syrian forces and – as everyone knows, it is no secret right here – so-called pro-Iranian army formations,” Putin mentioned.

These troops merely deserted their positions, he defined, including that Russia had additionally evacuated 4,000 pro-Iranian fighters to Tehran by way of its Hmeimim base. He didn’t point out Russian airstrikes in opposition to insurgent positions which didn’t halt their advance.

Russia is at present negotiating with insurgent forces over the destiny of its two army bases. Latest satellite tv for pc photos of Hmeimim revealed gear actions according to a withdrawal of Russian forces.

“We keep contacts with all teams in Syria and with all international locations within the area. All of them say it could be higher if we stored our bases there,” Putin mentioned, including, nonetheless, that extra talks have been wanted to succeed in a mutually helpful settlement between Russia and Syria’s new leaders.

Shedding the Hmeimim and Tartous bases would harm Moscow’s picture as a world energy participant and pose a critical strategic downside. Each websites represent necessary logistics platforms for Russia’s different actions within the Mediterranean and for its operations in Africa.

Putin mentioned he had not but met Assad in Moscow however meant to take action.

He additionally mentioned he was prepared to satisfy US President-elect Donald Trump. “I haven’t spoken to him in over 4 years. I’m prepared to do that at any time,” Putin mentioned.

He denied that such a dialog would happen at a time when Russia was weakened by its choice to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, saying that in his view Russia had turn out to be “far more robust during the last two or three years. “.

“The rumors about my dying are vastly exaggerated,” Putin joked, to applause from the viewers, citing a quote attributed to creator Mark Twain.