Defense Minister Shoigu is Skeptical: Perhaps the US Coalition Was Supporting ISIS, Not Fighting It
Russia doesn't intend to knock on a locked door, but it does guarantee its own safety and the safety of its allies. This statement was made today at the Moscow International Security Conference. Representative from military establishments and intelligence agencies from about 100 countries have gathered to discuss essential challenges and threats.
Dmitry Melnikov will continue.
During the year that has passed since the last Security Conference in Moscow, the relationship between key players in the world has changed drastically. It's truly a breaking point. While the collective West tries to hang on to the broken concept of a unipolar world, the military parts of the other half of the world discussed world order in Moscow. Defense Ministers of India, China, Iran, Vietnam, Laos, Syria, and dozens of other countries. Right now, there are 86 representatives from military establishments from 86 countries whose interests aren't under the US influence. The crushing defeat of militants and preserving Syria's integrity have started a new reality of distribution of power in the world. However, there is no longer any place on this planet that is completely safe from terror.
Nikolay Patrushev, Security Secretary of Russia: "Militants from Syria and Iraq move to Europe to continue recruiting new members and prepare terrorist attacks. Others move to Afghanistan, Central Asia, Sahara and Sahel Regions, as well as the Pacific Rim. The objects of aspiration for terrorists primarily remain to be the countries with weakened government institution".
Terrorist organizations are social units whose firepower can compete with the armed forces of some countries. Cyber troops recruit new members. In Syria, the Russian and Syrian militaries have destroyed 17 of the militants' latest drones in the past month. Russia's Ministry of Defense says that these weapons cannot be manufactured without outside help. Overall, the pro-American coalition's role in the so-called fight against ISIS is obvious now, as said by Sergey Shoygu.
Sergey Shoygu, the Russian Minister of Defense: "It's hard to believe that the most powerful coalition group couldn't handle the terrorists. They probably had other goals, like evaluating the situation in the region, and reinforcing their military and economic presence. The situation has changed after the start of the operation by Russia's Aerospace Forces and the creation of a true anti-terrorist alliance with Iran, Russia, and Turkey".
Shoygu's Iranian colleague, Amir Hatami directly accuses the US of supporting the internal Islam conflict. During the meeting in Moscow, the Islam world was unanimous. The handling of the Syrian issue is an example of collaboration to everyone's benefit.
Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistani Minister of Defense: "I think that the Russian forces have played a very important role. What we hope for is a successful, peaceful process in Syria. The situation in the Middle East affects all of us".
Afghanistan and Iraq are the bloody examples of the opposite approach. During 15 years of the US coalition's presence, these countries have supplied thousands of militants for terrorist attacks all over the world. Having such bases at their disposal, terrorist organizations can regroup their forces to strike over and over.
Aleksandr Bortnikov, the Director of the Russian FSB: "We don't exclude the possibility that ISIS and Al-Qaeda will unite into a new terrorist network. If this happens, this organization will have active and passive units in all countries with significant combat experience in both field and urban environments, and the technology and infrastructure to produce real, not fake, chemical weapons".
India's Minister of Defense, Nirmala Sitharaman is also concerned with neighboring Afghanistan. Delhi supports Russia's efforts to fight terrorism, traditionally emphasizing the special relationship between our countries.
Members of the Chinese military and their colleagues from North Korea study Russian weapons in the lobby. China's Minister of Defense, Wèi Fènghé has stated earlier that his visit to Moscow is a direct signal to Washington, and his support of Russia in light of their strained relations with the West. Along with military pressure, the West arrogantly resorts to blackmail and provocations, as mentioned by the Conference's participants.
Sergey Naryshkin, the Director of the Russian FIS: "The US keeps trying to make the US-centered system of international relations that is based on coercion and even blackmail, appear to be voluntary. Even in the bizarre provocation with the Skripals, poorly cooked up by the British and American intelligence agencies some European countries are in no rush to blindly follow London and Washington, preferring to thoroughly investigate the events instead. It's important to stop this irresponsible game of raising the stakes, and refuse to project force in international relations".
Scaring themselves that new forces are turning up in Eurasia under this pretense is a tried-and-true strategy by Washington and its allies. They also refuse to discuss anything.
Sergey Shoygu, the Russian Minister of Defense: "We don't intend to knock on a locked door, but we won't ignore the attempted forceful pressure on us, either. The military potential of our armed forces will be kept at a level that is guaranteed to ensure the safety of Russia and its allies".
The Moscow Security Conference will continue to take place tomorrow. The order of business is to discuss information and cyber threats.
Dmitry Melnikov, Anna Tsimailo, Viktor Mamaev, and Valery Ivanov, Vesti, Moscow.