Assad Dismisses 'Cosmetic' US Anti-Daesh Campaign, Praises Russian Involvement
14:27 10.02.2017(updated 14:35 10.02.2017)
The United States conducts a "cosmetic" military campaign against the outlawed Daesh jihadist group, which suffered losses in the wake of Russia's involvement, Syrian President Bashar Assad said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On September 28, 2015, Putin addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time in over a decade during its anniversary 70th session in New York. The president touched upon the key issues on the international agenda, putting a main focus on the fight against terrorism. During the speech, the Russian leader called for the creation of a broad coalition to fight terrorism for the first time.
Later, he and other Russian officials continued to call for creating a united front against terrorism.
Russia started its aerial campaign against terrorists in Syria in 2015 at the request of the Syrian president.
"This is a cosmetic campaign against IS [Daesh]," Assad said in an interview with the US-based Yahoo News online outlet published Friday.
Assad further asserted that Daesh began losing ground following Russia's involvement in September 2015.
"It started shrinking after the Russian intervention, not the American one," he was quoted as saying.
The US-led coalition of 68 nations is conducting airstrikes against the Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.
© Sputnik
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