The separation of moderate opposition from terrorists in Syria and the introduction of escalation zones allowed to end the civil war in that country, Defense Minister of the Russian Federation, Army General Sergei Shoigu said. On Wednesday, he met with the head of the Lebanese military department, Jakub As-Sarraf, during the International Military Technical Forum “Army-2017”.
“As for our cooperation, it is most relevant today, as your country is in the zone of possible instability or expansion of instability in this region, which has already affected both Iraq and Syria,” Shoigu said, noting that the Russian military is pleased to observe For the successes of Lebanon in the north-east of the country in the fight against Jabhat al-Nusrah and IG (banned in the Russian Federation).
“In Syria, we succeeded in separating one from the others (moderate opposition from terrorists – IF), creating four zones of de-escalation and ending the actual civil war,” the Russian Defense Minister stressed.
According to him, it also allowed to concentrate the main forces not on the struggle inside the country between the opposition and the authorities, but on the fight against international terrorism – with Jabhat an Nusra, IG and other organizations that joined them.
In turn, the head of the military department of Lebanon noted the positive influence of Russia in the Middle East. In his opinion, the return of the Russian Federation to the region and to Lebanon, in particular, affected the expansion of the possibilities and freedoms of the people of his country.