Russia's role is to restore balance in international relations, from which most countries will benefit. This opinion was expressed by the President of the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR) Bashar Al-Assad in an interview with Zvezda TV channel , a fragment of which was published on the channel's website on Friday.
According to the Syrian leader, there has been an imbalance of power in international relations for a quarter of a century. "Russia's role is to restore the lost balance. Along with political and diplomatic steps at various international venues, the role of the Russian military build-up in the world is not the least of these steps," Assad said.
The SAR President added that most countries, "especially small ones, including Syria, will only benefit from a more balanced world order. "We should not assume that Russia's role in Syria is limited to countering international terrorism," he concluded.
In January 2017, Russia and Syria signed a protocol to an agreement on the deployment of an aircraft group of the Russian Armed Forces in the SAR. It states that the external security of the locations of the Russian military and coastal borders of the logistics point in the port of Tartus is carried out by the Syrian side, while air defense, internal security and law enforcement in the locations are within the area of responsibility of the Russian side. The duration of the agreement and protocol is 49 years from its signing, with an option to extend it for 25-year periods.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / TASS
Based on materials from TASS