Syrian Authorities Responsible for Decision-Making, Not Putin – Assad

The decisions in Syria are being made by the Syrian government, not Russia, Syrian President Bashar Assad said.

PARIS (Sputnik) – He emphasized that Russia respects Syrian sovereignty.

"No, [Russian] President Vladimir Putin is not making decisions in Syria. We are making these decisions. Russia respects our sovereignty. On the each stage – strategic or tactic – there was interaction with Syria. They have never done anything without consultations with us," Assad said in an interview with the French Europe 1 radio broadcaster.

The Syrian president added that, without Russian support, the situation would have been worse.

"But to what extent worse? Nobody knows. I cannot tell you whether the government had stayed in power or had been overthrown. But it is clear that the Russian support was decisive in weakening the Islamic State [Daesh] and Jabhat al Nusra [al-Nusra Front]," Assad stressed.

Russia launched its military operation in Syria on September 30, 2015, at the request of the Syrian government. While targeting terrorist organizations, Russia also acts as a mediator in the intra-Syrian reconciliation process, and provides Syrian civilians with humanitarian aid.