Lebanon Likely to Become New Terrorist Target After Daesh Defeated in Syria

© AP Photo / Bassem MroueHezbollah fighter looks toward Syria while standing in the fields of the Lebanese border village of Brital, Lebanon. (File)
Hezbollah fighter looks toward Syria while standing in the fields of the Lebanese border village of Brital, Lebanon. (File) - Sputnik International
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Lebanon fears it would become an alternative target for terrorists after a series of their defeats in Syria, Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Sunday, the Syrian army, backed by militias and Russian Aerospace Forces, fully liberated Syria's historic city of Palmyra, which was under Daesh control for about a year. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the liberation of Palmyra is a turning point in the fight against Daesh.

"There are concerns that some sides who support and finance terrorists may intend to create alternatives following a series of terrorists' defeats in [neighboring] Syria, and Lebanon could be of the possible alternatives," the minister said.

On Wednesday, Lebanon's Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri held a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who expressed Moscow's readiness to strengthen the capacity of the Lebanese armed forces.

"[Lebanon] needs help of major powers to enhance our independence, so that no one could interfere in our internal affairs and the Lebanese people themselves decide their fate and choose their leadership without outside directives," Bassil said commenting on Lavrov's words.

A Lebanese anti-government protester kicks back a tear gas canister shot by security forces during a protest against the ongoing trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. Lebanese security forces used water cannons and eventually fired tear gas canisters to disperse dozens of anti-government protesters who tried to get past security barricades and reach parliament. - Sputnik International
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Speaking about Russia's military and political role in the Syrian crisis settlement, the Lebanese foreign minister said that the results achieved by Moscow's aerial campaign against IS terrorists in Syria had proved that Russia was the state which treated the fight against terrorism most seriously.

Since launching the anti-terrorist mission at Syrian President Bashar Assad’s request on September 30, Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25, Su-24M and Su-34 attack aircraft, with the support of Su-30 jets, conducted thousands of sorties that set back and disrupted terrorist organizations from advancing in the Arab republic.

Earlier in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the pullout of the bulk of the Russian contingent in Syria after a broad completion of its objectives.

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