DUSHANBE, September 15. /TASS/. Russia will keep providing military-technical assistance to Damascus in fight against Islamic State terrorists, President Vladimir Putin said at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on Tuesday.
"I would like to say that we support the Syrian government in fight against terrorist aggression, we assist it and will keep rendering necessary military-technical assistance to it," the Russian leader said.
He urged other countries to join Moscow on that. "It is evident that without an active participation of the Syrian authorities and military, without participation of the Syrian army inside the territory, as the military say, in fight against Islamic State, terrorists cannot be expelled from that country and from the region on the whole, the multi-national and multi-confessional Syrian people cannot be protected against destruction, enslavement and barbarity," he said.
Situation in Afghanistan is degrading as IS influence in that country spreads
According to the Russian president, the situation in Afghanistan is degrading as the influence of the Islamic State in that country spreads.
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"Regrettably, with the withdrawal of some foreign military contingents the situation in that country is degrading. The risk of terrorist and extremist groups penetrating into the countries adjacent to Afghanistan has grown. The threat is soaring, because alongside the already known organizations the so-called Islamic State has been spreading its influence to the Afghan territory. The scale of that organization’s activity has gone far beyond the bounds of Iraq and Syria," Putin said.
Terrorists plunge whole peoples into chaos and poverty, he recalled.
Putin believes that efforts by the International Security Assistance Force against narcotic drugs production have failed to yield the expected results.
"You all know the way this threat is growing," he said.
Putin urges unity of Syrian government, Kurds, other forces in fight against terrorism
Russia is for creating a wide coalition that would pool efforts by all those prepared to contribute to the struggle against terrorism.
"Russia, as you may know, has urged creating a wide coalition to resist extremists. That coalition is to unite all those who are prepared to make a real contribution to the struggle against terror and are already making this contribution," Putin said.
In particular, he called for presenting a common front against the terrorist organization Islamic State in Syria.
"Today it is essential to pool efforts by the Syrian government, the Kurdish militias, the moderate opposition and other countries in the region in the struggle against the treat to the very statehood of Syria and against terrorism," Putin said.
The president called on the international community to put aside geopolitical ambitions and double standards and to join forces to combat the threat of terrorism.
"We should put geopolitical ambitions aside and abandon the so-called double standards and the policy of using either directly or indirectly certain terrorist groups to achieve one's own opportunist goals, including the change of governments and regimes undesirable to someone," Putin said at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe.
Putin described the current situation in Syria, Iraq and the whole Middle East region as "very serious", noting that Islamic State militants controlled large swathes of territory there and were advancing in other areas.
"Terrorists publicly claim that they set their sights on Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. They are planning to expand their activities to Europe, Russia, Central and Southeast Asia," he said.
The president expressed concern about the fact that Islamic State continued to ideologically indoctrinate and train fighters from many countries of the world, "including, unfortunately, European countries and Russia, and many other former Soviet republics."
"Elementary common sense and responsibility for global and regional security require concerted efforts of the international community against this threat," Putin added.