In remarks carried by Russian news agencies, Patrushev angrily argued that “it wasn’t us who provoked the regimes’ change in the Middle East and North Africa.” He added that “we have nothing to do with the conflicts and wars which erupted there.”
Russia’s air campaign has helped the Syrian army make a series of gains in recent months. President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial drawdown of Russian warplanes, but said Russia will continue to fight the Islamic State group and the al-Qaida linked Nusra Front.
