In his traditional annual press conference before over a thousand journalists, the head of the Kremlin pledged to continue providing air support to the Syrian ground forces in their offensive 'to the end', referring to the battle against the self-styled ISIL and other terrorist groups.
Speaking in Moscow's World Trade Center, Putin said that Russia does not need more bases in Syria, because the Navy has missiles with ranges of up to 1,500km, and the strategic aviation has others with ranges of over five thousand.
Referring to the operational capability of the Russian troops, he stressed that it is possible to withdraw them within 48 hours, and stressed that in two days the Antonov-22 (An-22) cargo aircraft took to Syria the feeding and rest modules.
Regarding the United States, he considered that regarding the key issues, both parties agree on finding a political solution as the only means to solve the conflict that is bleeding the Arab country.
However, he reiterated that Moscow is in favor of Syria's fate being decided by its people, in accordance with international law.
Putin said that Russia will make every effort in search of the solution to the conflict, whose beginning dates back to March 2011, and reaffirmed the intention that solutions are acceptable to all parties involved in the negotiations, although he admitted that this is a complicated issue.
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PL-8/MNA