Russia helped save Syria from rule by terrorists
Humans have a short memory. This is why I was not surprised by the editorial “No mission accomplished in Syria”, published by your newspaper on December 13. But the editorial disappointed me because it obviously misleads your readers.
Of course we cannot but agree that it is still a long way to the defeat of international terrorism. But the editorial quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying “mission accomplished” in Syria while not mentioning another part of his statement made at the Khmeimim airbase on December 11.
“Yes, the threat of terrorism around the world is still very high,” President Putin said. “However, the task of combating the armed groups here in Syria, the goal that needed to be addressed with the help of the large-scale use of the armed forces, has been largely resolved – and brilliantly resolved.”
Is our memory so short that we fail to remember what happened two years ago? Before Russian Air Force operations in Syria began in September 2015, more than 70 per cent of the country’s territory was controlled by terrorist groups. ISIS had captured Raqqa, Palmira and many other cities of strategic importance. The terrorists possessed industrial facilities, oil and gas fields and transport communications. Thirty per cent of the population had fled their homes. Thousands of Syrians were killed and hundreds of thousands were tortured, humiliated and left to lead miserable lives.
Today, 90 per cent of Syrian territory is under the control of government forces. Syria has been preserved as a sovereign and independent state. Refugees and internally displaced people are returning to their homes. Favourable conditions have been created for a political settlement under the UN. Isn’t this a true victory?
Russian soldiers are going back home. But not all of them. Some lost their lives defending the world from the threat of terrorism in Syria. They went and fought in Syria. You and I did not. Let us be at least proud of them and cherish them in our memory the way we would anyone who protected our homes from terrorists.
Kirill Barsky
Russian ambassador to Thailand
