Assad said that Russia can be proud of the military serving in Syria. He also noted that the conflict in Syria showed the professionalism of the Russian army.
Russian servicemen who are on military service in Syria can be a source of pride for Russians. This was stated by the President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad in an interview with “Zvezda”, which was published on the channel’s website.
“As I said at the very beginning, the Russian people have the right to be proud of what their army has achieved in Syria”, – he said.
“Undoubtedly, the families of these military men more than other Russians can be proud of their sons who achieved great deeds in Syria, who protected not only the Syrian people, but also their loved ones and compatriots”.
This year marks exactly five years since the start of the Russian military operation to help the Syrian people liberate the country from international terrorist groups. During its active phase, which lasted from September 30, 2015 to December 11, 2017, key Syrian cities such as Palmyra, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor were liberated. The Syrian government has regained control over 88% of the country. Today the Syrian government controls 1,435 settlements.
During the Syrian operation, Russian aviation carried out more than 44 thousand sorties, during which more than 121 thousand terrorist facilities, almost 10.5 thousand pieces of equipment and over 130 thousand militants were destroyed. Military engineers have cleared more than 20 thousand buildings, over 1.5 thousand km of roads, and neutralized almost 144 thousand explosive objects.
Professionalism of the Russian army
The good technical equipment and professionalism of the Russian army clearly manifested itself during the fight against terrorism in Syria, Bashar al-Assad said.
“Without a doubt, the Russian army is very well equipped technically. This clearly manifested itself during the war. On the other hand, it is a professional army in the full sense of the word, able to accurately define goals and ways to achieve them”, – Assad said.
He also noted that those Russian military, with whom Damascus directly interacted at all levels, worked without interruption. According to him, the pilots “in the midst of battles made their first sorties at three in the morning, even before sunrise, and finished their work after midnight”.
“Of course, one cannot but remember that the Russian army suffered losses in Syria”, – the Syrian President added.
Transparency and honesty
In addition, Assad mentioned the work of the Russian Defense Ministry. He believes that this is a kind of “umbrella”,”under the cover of which actions on the ground are taking place, both military and political in nature”. The Syrian leader noted that this department inspires great confidence, without which it would be difficult to carry out the military tasks facing them through the joint efforts of the armies of the two countries.
“The basis of this trust is a high level of transparency and honesty. This applies to all agreements, everything that has been achieved over the past five years. This is how you can briefly describe the impression that many Syrian military personnel have formed during this time, who collaborated with Russian colleagues”, – he said.
According to Assad, “the Russian people, who have always been proud of their army, after these five years should be even more proud of it in connection with its great successes in Syria”.
Events five years ago
Speaking about the events in Syria in 2015, the Syrian leader described the situation at that time as extremely dangerous.
“Terrorists attacked in various parts of the country, seized cities with direct assistance from the United States, France, Great Britain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. Western countries and the West as a whole provided them with indirect support”, – the Syrian leader explained.
According to him, this extremely dangerous situation was the main subject of contacts between Damascus and the Russian military and political leadership, especially after 2014, “when terrorists occupied vast desert areas in eastern Syria”.
Assad noted that Damascus then hoped for help and there were several reasons for this. The first, he said, is the important position of Syria in terms of politics.
“Any mistake made here can affect the situation in the entire Middle East and in other regions. The struggle for Syria because of its importance has been going on since ancient times, this is not a new phenomenon”, – Assad said.
“The second reason is that the terrorism that Syria fought is the same terrorism that is responsible for the capture of children at school in Beslan in 2004, for the murder of innocent people in the theater on Dubrovka. This is international terrorism”, – added the Syrian leader. Therefore, he believes, it was in Russia’s interests “to strike at terrorism” and also “to avoid destabilization in Syria”.