Mikdad Denies Rumors about Presence of Russian Ground Forces in Syria

DAMASCUS, (ST)-Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faysal al-Mikdad has affirmed Russia’s firm support for the Syrian state aiming to achieve a balance of forces that helps it manage the terrorism fighting file and produce tangible facts to attain political settlement to the crisis in Syria.

In a statement to “Russia Today” Channel, al-Mikdad denied rumors about the presence of Russian ground forces in Syria, stressing that “these rumors aim to prolong the terrorism-caused crisis in the country in the service of the US and Israeli interests in the region. They also aim to cover the failure of the so-called US-led anti-terror coalition in achieving its set goals.

“The Russian presence in Syria is confined to consultants within the framework of the Russian-Syrian military agreements,” al-Mikdad said.

He added that the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated yesterday that the Russian Federation supported Syria in the past and will keep supporting it in future.

“This is the strategic policy that governs the relation between Syria and Russia,” he clarified.

Zakharova asserted “Russia has never made a secret out of its military and technical cooperation with Syria. There are military experts in the country to assist the Syrians in using Russian equipments.”

The declared “hysteria” in this respect is absolutely not understood, Zakharova said.

Hamda Mustafa