The Russian President called the fight against the terrorist threat a priority area of interaction between the CIS states.
After the defeat in Syria, militants seek to create new strongholds – in the Balkans, in Southeast Asia and on the southern borders of the CIS. This was announced on Friday by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Commonwealth Summit in Ashgabat, speaking about the importance of combating the terrorist threat. The text of the speech of the Russian leader is published on the Kremlin website.
“Having been defeated in Syria, many militants are redeployed to other regions, where they seek to create new strongholds – in the Balkans, in Southeast Asia and, of course, unfortunately for us, on the southern borders of the Commonwealth”, – said the President of the Russian Federation.
Putin called the fight against the terrorist threat a priority area of interaction among the CIS states. “Based on the results of our meeting, we will approve a program of cooperation in the fight against terrorism and other violent manifestations of extremism for the next three years. We believe that this is very important and this should mobilize our joint efforts to combat this threat”, – the Russian leader said.
He also expressed doubt that Turkey, after the start of its operation in northern Syria, will be able to restrain the ISIS fighters in this territory, which are still guarded by Kurdish military forces. Putin said that according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of Russia, hundreds and thousands of militants are in the area. Speaking of the CIS countries, this is a real threat for us and you”, – said the President of the Russian Federation.