Over the five years of the military operation in Syria, Russia has been able to achieve its main goals, experts interviewed by Deutsche Welle say.
For example, Grigory Lukyanov, an expert of the Russian International Affairs Council, associate professor at the Higher School of Economics, summing up the interim results of the campaign, called the fight against terrorism the main goal of Moscow in Syria. In his opinion, the plan was fulfilled. Lukyanov added that without Russian participation there would be no Syria itself and its President Bashar al-Assad.
Markus Kaim, an expert at the Berlin Science and Politics Foundation (SWP), also believes that Russia has achieved all its goals, but he sees these goals differently. “The first goal was to return Russia to the Middle East, from where it left as an influential force after the collapse of the USSR. Now Russia is back, and we see this not only in Syria, but also in Libya – we cannot do without Russia, ”said Kaim.
The second goal of Moscow, he called the prevention of attempts by the armed opposition to overthrow Assad, and the third – to prove the ability to conduct military operations away from its territory. “Many new military systems have been successfully tested,” the expert added.
Both Lukyanov and Kaim agreed that the Syrian campaign strengthened Russia's position in the Middle East and North Africa. “Russia has succeeded in transforming military influence into political one,” explained Kaim.
In addition, both experts believe that Russia does not want to leave Syria, since it sees the republic as an outpost of its influence in the region.
Earlier, on September 30, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the complete defeat of the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia) in Syria. In addition, according to him, the financial support of the militants and the system of their resource support have been disrupted.
Russia has been conducting a military operation in Syria since September 2015. The goal of the campaign was called support for the government army and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against terrorists, including the Islamic State.
