Sun Dec 20, 2015 18:35:59
Russian President Vladimir Putin has revealed that Russia will use more advanced military force against terror groups in Syria but only if its ‘necessary.’
He confirmed that the Russian armed forces have not employed all their capability in Syria and may use ‘more military means’ there if required.
“I want to stress that these are by far not all of our capabilities,” he said.
“We have more military means. And we will use them - if need be,” Putin added.
“We see how efficiently our pilots and intelligence agents coordinate their efforts with various kinds of forces - the army, navy and aviation, how they use the most modern weapons.”
He also hailed the country’s secret services for foiling around 30 planned attacks and uncovering more than 320 foreign spies in 2015.
“I want to point out that this year, thanks to the efforts of the FSB employees, more than 30 crimes of a terrorist nature have been prevented,” said Putin in a speech honouring the FSB, whose forerunner was the Soviet KGB.
“Our counter-intelligence service carries a great responsibility. This year they identified more than 320 traitorous officers and agents of foreign secret services,” noted Putin, himself a former head of the FSB before his rise to political power in 1999.
“We are seeing the secret services of a certain number of countries intensifying ... their work in Russia,” he added.
The recent increase in spying activity has been due in large part to the fighting in eastern Ukraine, pitting Kiev government forces against pro-Russian separatists since April 2014.
Putin in his speech also mentioned another global hotspot, Syria, where Russia in September began a campaign of air strikes against ‘terrorists’ to support the regime of ally Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
He said the Russian army was “far from using all its capabilities in Syria,” assuring that “additional funds could be released if necessary” for the military effort there; Daily Mail reported.
S/SH
string(2888) "[{"id":"1764469","sort":"3461760","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/11/29/alalam_635843856848269196_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Russian President Putin Approves Economic Sanctions against Turkey"} ,{"id":"1764651","sort":"3461759","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/11/29/alalam_635844141823896669_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkey-Russia Boiling Point: Will Putin Retaliates for Downing Jet?"} ,{"id":"1765202","sort":"3461758","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/01/alalam_635845688993163372_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Putin: Data Shows ISIS Sends Oil to World Market via Turkey"} ,{"id":"1765247","sort":"3461756","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/01/alalam_635845720285963643_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Russian President Putin Calls for an End to Charter Flights with Turkey"} ,{"id":"1765265","sort":"3461757","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/01/alalam_635845774158530549_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Erdogan Insists Putin Should Say Sorry for Flying into His Country’s Air Space"} ,{"id":"1765595","sort":"3461755","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/02/alalam_635846706306767933_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"American People Cherish Russia’s President Putin for Pounding ISIS"} ,{"id":"1765892","sort":"3461754","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/03/alalam_635847491622358469_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Putin: Russia ‘Will Not Forget’ Turkish Downing of Warplane"} ,{"id":"1766807","sort":"3461753","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/06/alalam_635850160098024198_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Kremlin Leader Putin Aims to Cut Turkey’s Wings"} ,{"id":"1767716","sort":"3461752","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/09/alalam_635852720479739000_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Russia Hoping Not to Use Nuclear Weapons against ISIS: Putin"} ,{"id":"1768262","sort":"3461750","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/11/alalam_635854412151809825_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Putin Sends Strong Message: “Immediately Destroy” Any Threat in Syria"} ,{"id":"1769707","sort":"3461751","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/16/alalam_635858526484182267_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"US Strategic Defeat in Syria Urged Kerry to Meet Putin"} ,{"id":"1770089","sort":"3461749","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/17/alalam_635859557965906248_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Putin: Let Turkish Planes Fly Now! Only Syrians Can Decide Their Fate"} ,{"id":"1770359","sort":"3461748","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/18/alalam_635860282296910451_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Trump Says ‘Putin Is Globally Respected Leader’ after Putin Called Him ‘Outstanding’ Politician"} ,{"id":"1770881","sort":"3461747","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/19/alalam_635861470184203720_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Putin: Russia Works Both with President Assad & US, If Needed"} ,{"id":"1771149","sort":"3461746","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/12/20/alalam_635862270306841590_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"320 Foreign Spies Revealed in Russia in 2015: Russian President Putin"} ]"