Alwaght- Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated that his country's policies towards Syria remain firm and principled while lashing out at Turkey for shooting down of a Russian warplane inside Syria.
During his Annual Presidential Conference in Moscow on Thursday, President Putin said no one can tell the Syrians who to be their leader because that is illogical and incorrect.
On the Russian military operation in Syria, Putin assured the operation will continue until it fulfills its objectives. "We will continue our air strikes and support the Syrian army’s offensive for as long as the Syrian army is carrying out these operations," the Russian president said. He also pointed out that the ISIS terrorist group protects illegal oil trade and possible economic interests of a third party in the Middle East region.
The Russian president said a draft resolution on the Syrian conflict prepared by the United States at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was in general acceptable to Russia.
The UNSC is due to vote on the draft resolution at a meeting on Friday. The document builds on the principles of the peace process agreed at the end of international talks on Syria in the Austrian capital of Vienna in November.
On the relations with Turkey, Putin said “Experience shows it is hard for us to come to common ground, or it is practically impossible. Even when we say “Yes” they stab us in the back due to unclear reasons. Therefore, I do not see a state-level prospect”.
He blamed Turkey for carrying out “a hostile act” when it destroyed a Russian Su-24 bomber inside Syria in late November. “The Turks,” he said, “decided to lick the Americans.”
He added that shooting down the Russian airplane over the Syrian airspace by Turkey was an “act of aggression” and noted that the Turkish officials did not contact the Russian officials after the incident but they rushed to the NATO.
And asked if he foresaw a thawing of relations in future, Putin said: “It is hard for us to reach agreement with the current Turkish leadership, if at all possible.
“What have they achieved? Maybe, they thought that we would run away from there (Syria)? But Russia is not such a country,” he said.
He stressed that the ISIS terrorist group is now present in the US, after it announced responsibility for the terrorist attack in California, which claimed the lives of 14 persons.