Russian politicians, military experts: The Syrian State has the right to use military force against terrorists on its land

MOSCOW, (ST)- Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council Andrei Klimov has affirmed that Russia’s position towards Syria is based on the basic principles of the international law which consider that all the military forces and armed groups operating on  Syrian territories without the approval of the legitimate Syrian government , as occupation forces which have no mandate justifying their presence in Syria.

In a statement to SANA, Klimov said the Turkish regime has not implemented its commitments regarding the de-escalation zone in Idleb pursuant to the Sochi agreement, stressing that this Turkish behavior complicates the situation in this area.

He reiterated that Idleb is an integral part of Syria which is a sovereign state that has the right to use military force against terrorists on its land.

  Klimov pointed out that there are internal problems inside Turkey that increase the Turkish people’s unrest because of the policies of their current government.

For his part, Deputy Head of  the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladislav Bilov said that the Syrian Arab Army’s operation against terrorists in Idleb comes within the framework of its duties as a national army that defends the land of its country. He stressed that Russia firmly supports the Syrian army operation particularly as the Turkish side doesn’t  implement its pledges pursuant to the Sochi agreements.

Bilov made it clear that Russia has warned against the threats resulted from the criminal acts of the Turkish-backed Terrorist groups in Idleb, reiterating Russia’s commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Deputy head of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Institute Vladimir Yevseyev said that Russia can’t depend completely on the Turkish regime, recalling some security incidents, including downing two Russian fighter jets by the Turkish forces and their affiliated terrorist groups and the assassination of the Russian Ambassador in Turkey Andrei Karlov in 2016.

Hamda Mustafa