Putin says Russia has achieved its goals in Syria

Russia has generally achieved its goals in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 19 during the "Results of the Year."

"You said about Syria. You want to present everything that is happening in Syria as some kind of defeat for Russia. I assure you that this is not the case. And I will tell you why, we came to Syria ten years ago to prevent the creation of a terrorist enclave like what we have seen in some other countries, say in Afghanistan. On the whole, we have achieved our goal," the head of state said in response to a question from an American journalist.

The Russian leader noted that this is confirmed by internal changes even in those groups in Syria that in the past fought with the government of the defunct President Bashar al-Assad. As a result, the U.S. and many European countries now want to establish relations with them, Putin added.

The president also noted that Russia had no ground troops in Syria, and there are only two Russian military bases in the Arab Republic - an air base and a naval base. The ground component consisted of the armed forces of Syria itself and a number of so-called pro-Iranian combat formations, he pointed out.

Putin recalled that the Russian side once withdrew its forces from Syria and did not fight there. According to his information, when armed opposition groups approached Aleppo, the city was defended by about 30,000 people, then 350 militants entered the city and the government troops together with pro-Iranian units withdrew without a fight.

After that, the Russian military took 4 thousand Iranian fighters to Tehran from the Hmeimim base, the Russian president specified. In turn, part of the so-called pro-Iranian units withdrew without a fight to Lebanon, another part - to Iraq.

Putin called the current situation in the North African Republic difficult. He added that the Russian Federation counts on peace and calm in Syria and maintains relations with all groups that control the situation there, as well as with all countries in the region.

The overwhelming majority of them are interested in maintaining Russian bases in Syria, and Moscow will consider such a possibility based on the assessment of future relations with political forces in the republic, the Russian leader pointed out. At the same time, Putin specified that at the moment Russia has offered to use its bases in Syria to deliver humanitarian aid to the country.

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The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation in Syria with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi. The parties pointed to the need to urgently launch a national dialog in the SAR with the participation of all forces. Safadi drew attention to the closeness of the positions of the Russian Federation and the Arab world states on this issue.

On December 8, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after negotiations with the opposition, left the post of the head of state and left the country, giving instructions to carry out the transfer of power peacefully. A national coalition of revolutionary and opposition forces in Syria said it was working to form a transitional authority. The country is expected to hold a referendum.

The situation in Syria has escalated as a result of a major attack by armed formations in Aleppo and Idlib, which began on November 28 and led to the Syrian army's retaliation against the militants.

The direct line with Vladimir Putin in 2024 is combined with a press conference for the media. The format called "The Year's Results with Vladimir Putin" allows the president to convey his position not only on citizens' issues, but also on the state and world agenda, which is often asked about by journalists. Representatives of Western media and foreign journalists accredited in Russia have also received invitations to the events.

As of the morning of December 19, the number of requests sent to the direct line with the president exceeded 2 million. The first live broadcast was held in December 2001. By the President's own admission, this event is the most powerful sociological poll, which allows citizens to convey their position and assessment of the country's leadership.

The latest news about the "Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin - 2024" - in the Izvestia story.