Putin Thanks Russian Armed Forces for Courageously Fighting Terrorists in Syria

BALASHIKHA-The Russian Armed Forces have been courageously and effectively fighting terrorists in Syria, President Vladimir Putin said at the Defense Ministry’s board meeting.

“I would like to start by expressing gratitude to those military servicemen who took part in the operation against terrorists in Syria. I would like to thank all the Armed Forces personnel. While fighting against international terrorism, which is a global threat, our soldiers and officers showed great courage and high professional skills, proving that the Russian Army’s capability has grown immensely,” he said, according to Itar Tass.

 According to the Russian leader, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the country’s Aerospace Force “played a leading role in defeating the strongest units of international terrorists.”Putin noted that “in fact, it was not just a terrorist group but a whole terrorist army, well-organized, trained and armed, which directly threatened our country and the entire world,” he added.

Putin also said that Russian and Syrian troops had managed to liberate almost all of the Syrian territory from terrorist, saving hundreds of thousands of lives, preserving the Syrian statehood and paving the way for the process of resolving the domestic Syrian conflict peacefully.

“Without a doubt, our army and navy deserve an A,” Putin said, adding that Russia would do everything in order to support the families of military servicemen who died during the Syrian operation. “We will always remember our brothers in arms who died protecting Russia and its people. Our human and moral duty is to support their families. The government and their fellow servicemen will do every possible effort for that,” Putin said suggesting that a minute of silence should be observed in the memory of those killed.

“I would like to once again thank the command and all the Armed Forces personnel for their achievements,” Putin concluded. “I expect that each and every one of you will continue faithfully serving our country and its people,” the Russian president said.

New US national security strategy is offensive and aggressive

Putin also said that Washington’s new national security strategy is “aggressive, adding that Moscow will take the US stance into consideration, the RT reported.

Both the US and NATO have been “accelerating build-up of infrastructure in Europe,” the Russian leader said Friday. Referring to the “defense strategy recently put out” by Washington, Putin said it was “definitely offensive… speaking in diplomatic language.”

“And if we switch to military language, then its character is definitely aggressive,” the president added, speaking at a Russian Defense Ministry meeting.

With NATO’s build-up in Europe, the US has violated the 1987 treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, Putin pointed out.

“Formally,” America’s missile-defense launchers now based in Poland are meant to counter threats, he said. “The point is, and specialists know about it very well, those launchers are all-purpose. They can also be used with existing sea-launched cruise missiles with the flight range of up to 2,500 km [1,550 miles]. And in this case, these missiles are no longer sea-launched missiles, they can be easily moved to land,” Putin added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry “should take into account” Western military strategies, Putin said, adding that “Russia has a sovereign right and all possibilities to adequately and in due time react to such potential threats.”

There are efforts to disrupt strategic parity through deployment of global anti-missile defense system and other strike systems “equatable to nuclear weapons,” the Russian leader told military officials. At the moment, Russia’s strategic nuclear forces are a reliable deterrent to such a military build-up, he added. However, it is necessary to develop them further, Putin said. “I’m talking about missile systems fit to steadily counter not only existing, but also future ABMs (anti- ballistic missiles).”

H.M