Russia to Operate in Syria Until Local Terrorist Groups Defeated - Lavrov

Sputnik News

12:31 03.02.2016(updated 15:14 03.02.2016)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia will continue its operation in Syria until terrorism groups in the Arab Republic are defeated.

MUSCAT (Sputnik) – Russia will continue its operation in Syria until terrorism groups in the Arab Republic are defeated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

'Russian airstrikes will not cease until we truly win over terrorist groups: Daesh, Jabhat al-Nusra [banned in Russia] and such. I see no reason to stop these airstrikes,' Lavrov told reporters.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the army loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting several opposition factions and militant groups, including the Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) and Daesh, banned in a range of countries including Russia.

The Russian Aerospace Defense Forces have been conducting an aerial campaign against the terrorist positions in Syria since September 30, following a request from President Assad.

According to mid-January data from the Russian General Staff, the Russian forces carried out over 5,600 sorties and 97 cruise missile launches during the first 100 days of the counterterrorism operation in Syria, having destroyed thousands of terrorist targets, including several hundred militants, dozens of command centers and depots.

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