WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — Russia’s airstrikes campaign in Syria has been successful in stabilizing the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"I think they [Russians] have stabilized [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s position… it is the only success I have seen so far," Gates told Sputnik.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates noted that unlike the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin "knows exactly what he is doing, and at least in the short and medium term, has been successful at it."
On Thursday, both Syria and Russia reaffirmed that the military action in Syria is aimed at achieving a political solution to the ongoing Syrian civil war.
Russia considers the Assad government the only legitimate authority in Syria, and has been supporting militarily to fight terrorist groups that seek to topple it, such as ISIL and the Nusra Front, under the rules of international law.
The US-led coalition of 62 nations against has conducted airstrikes against ISIL since September 2014, but without the approval of the UN Security Council or the Syrian government.
Russia has commenced airstrikes against terrorist groups in Syria on September 30 upon the request of the Syrian government.
