Assad praised the idea of ​​expanding Russia’s military presence in Syria

Expanding Russia’s military presence in Syria is a good idea. Such a statement did Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“We believe that if Russia has a desire to expand bases or increase their number, then this is a matter of a technical or logistical nature. If there is such a desire, then we believe that the expansion of the Russian presence in Syria is good, it will serve this idea, ”he said.

The Syrian leader specified that on the eve of March 15, issues of military cooperation were discussed at the level of the defense ministers of Russia and Syria, but the issue of increasing the number of military bases was not raised. Assad noted that military matters “always have a kind of secrecy.”

In addition, the Syrian president said that Russia’s military presence in the republic should not be temporary and be limited to the fight against terrorism. He added that Russian bases in Syria are needed from the point of view of “the balance of power in the world.” Assad also advocated equipping the bases with “better weapons”. According to him, this is “natural and logical,” since it is assumed that the Russian military presence should “have a deterrent or balancing effect.”

Since 2015, an aviation group of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation has been located at the Khmeimim airfield in Syria. In addition, in 2017, the parties agreed to create a Russian naval technical support base, which is located 70 km from the Syrian port of Tartus.

Bashar Assad arrived to Moscow on March 14 to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting took place on March 15, the leaders talked for three hours. During the open part of the talks, Putin declared on an increase in trade between Russia and Syria by 7% in 2022 and drew attention to the efforts of the two countries in the fight against international terrorism.

Assad, in turn, noted that his visit to Moscow “will open a new aspect in our relationship for the future.” He also expressed support for Russia in the special operation in Ukraine and thanked for the help in eliminating the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in early February.