Vladimir Putin took part in the third Truth and Justice regional and local media forum.
Περιληπτική απόδοση του παρακάτω αποσπάσματος από τα τα λεχθέντα:
Θα προσέξατε, ότι, μετά την αποχώρηση ενός σημαντικού τμήματος των στρατιωτικής μας δύναμης, ο συριακός στρατός συνεχίζει ενεργά να επιτίθεται και με την υποστήριξή μας απελευθερώνει όλο και περισσότερες κατοικημένες περιοχές...
Ωστόσο, η Δύση, προσπαθεί να αποσιωπήσει τον ρόλο της Ρωσίας στην Μέση Ανατολή:
Όσο κι αν θέλουν κάποιοι να μειώσουν τον ρόλο, τη σημασία της συμμετοχής μας στον πόλεμο κατά της τρομοκρατίας, να αποσιωπήσουν αυτά τα γεγονότα, είναι απλά αδύνατον να το κάνουν, αλλά αυτή είναι η επιθυμία τους. Οι άνθρωποι κάνουν την δουλειά τους: η δική σας δουλειά είναι να μεταφέρετε την πληροφορία στο φως της δημοσιότητας και να την θέσετε στην κρίση της κοινής γνώμης, ενώ η δουλειά εκείνων εκεί είναι να αποσιωπήσουν, να παραπληροφορήσουν τους τηλεθεατές, τους ακροατές, τους αναγνώστες. Μοιάζει με απόπειρα επίθεσης εναντίον κάποιου 'επί ματαίω', όπως λένε και οι νομικοί. Η ζωή θα πάρει τον δρόμο της, και αυτό δεν μας ανησυχεί , για μας σημασία έχει το αποτέλεσμα..."
Vladimir Putin: It is still too early to talk about a fundamental turnaround in Syria, but it is clear that we have carried out our mission with success. Our mission was above all to bolster Syria’s statehood and support the legitimate government.
Incidentally, if you followed the events, this is precisely what I spoke about back at the General Assembly session that marked the UN’s 70th anniversary. I said that if we want to stop the flow of refugees into Europe, for example, if we want people to want and be able to live in their home country and not flee abroad, we need to restore statehood where it had been lost. I was referring above all to Libya. We need to support and strengthen statehood in the countries where it still exists, and here, I am referring to Syria.
In this respect, our Armed Forces, and not just our Aerospace Forces, and I will say this again, have certainly been up to the task. Syria’s statehood has been strengthened. The government bodies and armed forces there are stronger now. Note that after the bulk of our forces withdrew, Syria’s government forces continued their active offensive and, with our support, are liberating more and more towns. Incidentally, no one disputes that this current action really is directed only against terrorist organisations such as ISIS. This is something that we, our American partners, and the Europeans all recognise. Everyone recognises it.
Why is this being passed over in silence? This is for logical reasons. First, they spoke of the need to isolate Russia following the events in Crimea, for example; then it became clear that this would not be possible, and with the start of the operations in Syria, it became absolutely clear that this kind of destructive action against our country is simply not possible. However, they would rather keep silent about this if possible and avoid talking about it if they can.
At the same time, our active efforts in combatting international terrorism have gone some way to improve our relations with the leading powers in this important for us all area of cooperation in fighting international terrorism. We have set up an information exchange centre with the United States, we also hold regular consultations, and I want to emphasise that we have established effective measures to monitor the ceasefire. This work continues.
The most important thing now is to organise efforts to find a political settlement, and here too, we continue regular consultations. Therefore, no matter how much someone might wish to do so, it is not possible to lessen the importance of our efforts in the fight against terrorism, and it is not possible to pass over these events in silence. This is simply not possible. The desire does exist. Everyone has their job to do. Your job is to bring information to public light, and their job is to lessen the significance of events or pass them over in silence, and not give their viewers, listeners and readers the full picture. This is an exercise in futility, as lawyers would say. Life goes on and we are not worried about this. It is the result that counts.