Heavy Russian assistance helped Damascus avoid a disaster and Syria's surrender to Islamists, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday.
"Over the past 4-5 years heavy assistance from our country helped [Syria] prevent a disaster and the surrender of the whole country to Islamists and terrorists," TASS cited Peskov as saying.
On September 30, 2015 the Federation Council unanimously approved President Vladimir Putin's request for permission to use the armed forces outside Russia. This decision allowed for beginning an operation in Syria at the request of President Bashar Assad. On December 6, 2017 Putin declared complete defeat of the Islamic State (terrorist group outlawed in Russia) on either side of the Euphrates in Syria.
