The Russian grouping of troops in Syria is the main guarantor of peace in the country, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
"The Russian grouping of troops remains the main guarantor of maintaining peace in Syria. Assistance has been provided to the Syrian leadership in resolving the aggravated situation in the south of the country in the summer. With the direct participation of our advisers we managed to avoid bloodshed and stabilize the situation in Deraa province," he said at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry board with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Shoigu recalled that since the start of the Russian military mission in the Syrian Arab Republic, over 2.3 million Syrian citizens had returned to their pre-war homes. Russian servicemen have carried out more than three thousand humanitarian actions and delivered more than five thousand tons of cargo. Military medics treated 132,000 civilians.
Speaking about the infrastructure of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, the general noted that this year work was completed on the extension of the Zapadnaya runway at the Khmeimim airfield.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti