Putin: I did not meet Assad and his fall does not constitute a defeat for Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country has achieved its goals in Syria, and that the fall of ousted President Bashar al-Assad does not constitute a defeat for his country.

Putin confirmed that he did not meet Bashar al-Assad after his arrival in Moscow, but he expressed his intention to talk to him, noting that there are those who are trying to present what happened in Syria as a defeat for their country.

Putin justified his country's military intervention in Syria during a television interview by saying that Moscow intervened to prevent the emergence of a terrorist entity there.

He confirmed that Moscow evacuated 4,000 pro-Iranian fighters from Syria to Tehran via the Hmeimim base after the fall of the Assad regime, noting that this came at the request of Iran.

He also confirmed that some forces affiliated with Iran left for Lebanon, while others left for Iraq.

The Russian president said that 350 opposition fighters entered Aleppo at a time when 30,000 government and pro-Iranian forces withdrew without a fight.

He explained that his country is studying the future of its bases in Syria based on the actions of the new Syrian authorities, noting that Moscow proposed using the Hmeimim base to deliver humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, and this was approved.

"We do not know how much we need our bases in Syria and what they can offer," he continued.

Putin said that the Syrian opposition factions that fought government forces had undergone internal changes, adding, "Western countries are communicating with the Syrian opposition factions, and if they were terrorists they would not have done so, and this means that they have changed."

Source: Agencies