Russian military operation in Syria aimed at protecting Russia’s interests - Putin

MOSCOW, December 3. /TASS/. The Russian military operation in Syria is, above all, the protection of Russia’s interests, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. "I want to thank you for the work you are doing in Syria. I must tell you that, and you know it only too well, I spoke about this in public on numerous occasions, this is not just the assistance to the Syrian people and the Syrian leadership. This is the direct work to protect Russia’s interests, the interests of our citizens. You yourself know that, you must know that," Putin said while presenting state awards to Russian military servicemen. Putin shared with the military servicemen the data on the situation in Syria. He noted that many immigrants from Russia were fighting on the terrorists’ side, in particular from the North Caucasus republics. "Today, just now, I have watched the latest footage of the area where our plane (Su-24) was shot down and our comrade-in-arms was killed. There are natives of the North Caucasus region there," the president said. "They are there, it (Su-24) delivered strikes on them," Putin said. "I’ve just seen the latest snaps that they (the militants) made and that they did not post anywhere. These are not online snaps," Putin said. "So, what you are doing there (in Syria) is the protection of our country. I am not inventing things when I say that, if they (these North Caucasus-born militants) gain a foothold there, they will get back some day," Putin said. "Incidentally, some of them already do so." At the same time, Russian security forces sustain losses after terrorists return home. "We sustain losses constantly. They fight there and are trained there…. They carry out bombings, assaults and so on and so forth," Putin said. "And then our boys, FSB commandos and Interior Ministry troops lose their lives here." Read more