Putin: Russia Is Committed to Peace Process in Syria; Remains Militarily Vigilant against Terrorism

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an address Thursday at the Kremlin, in the ceremony to present state decorations to those who participated in the military operation in Syria. More than 700 officers, men and women of the Aerospace Forces, the Ground Forces, and the Navy attended the proceedings in the St. George Hall, along with representatives of the military-industrial sector.

President Putin confirmed that Russian military support to the government of Bashar al-Assad will continue and that, if necessary, the Russian air group could rapidly deploy back to Syria.

“If necessary, of course, Russia will be able to enhance its group in the region in a matter of hours to a size required for a specific situation and to use all the options available,” Putin said. “We would not want to do that. Military escalation is not our choice. Therefore, we still count on the common sense of both sides, on the adherence by both the Syrian authorities and the opposition, to a peaceful process.”

The primary task of the Russian force remaining in Syria “is to monitor ceasefire and create conditions for a political internal dialogue in Syria,” Putin said, including the air defense assets needed to protect them. He also confirmed that Russia has helped reconstitute Syrian air defense capabilities, which is clearly a very pointed message to Turkey and other powers that might still harbor Sykes-Picot-style ambitions in Syria. “We proceed from fundamental international norms: nobody has the right to violate the airspace of a sovereign country, Syria in this case,” Putin said. “We have created, together with the American side, an efficient mechanism to prevent air incidents, but all our partners have been warned that our air defense systems will be used against any target that we deem to be threatening Russian service personnel,” he went on. “I want to stress: any target.”

Russian support to the Syrian government will continue, in the form of financial aid, supplies of equipment and arms, assistance in training and building Syrian armed forces, reconnaissance support and assistance to headquarters in planning operations.

Near the end of his talk, Putin again recalled Russia’s lessons from World War II, which have shaped his outlook, as Lyndon LaRouche has pointed out, even though he had not yet been born. He noted that the latest Russian weaponry passed tests, not on the shooting ranges, but in real combat. “Life itself has shown that they are a reliable guarantee of our country’s security,” he said, and then, “We should bear in mind the threats that appear when we do not do things on time; we should remember the lessons of history, including the tragic events of the beginning of World War II and the Great Patriotic War, the price we paid for mistakes in military construction and planning and the shortage in new military equipment. Everything should be done on time, while weakness, neglect and omissions are always dangerous.”