Kremlin: Anti-’ISIL’ Campaign in Syria Not a Burden for Russian State Budget

Local Editor

The current Russian military operation in Syria is not a burden for the state budget as it is financed from the regular defense budget, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

The spokesman stressed that the Russian military assistance to the Syrian government did not involve ground operations.

"It is not a burden for the Russian budget...as [financing of] such an operation does not go beyond the limits of the regular defense ministry's expenditures," Peskov said.

Russia's Sukhoi Su-25, Su-24M and Su-34 attack aircraft with the support of Su-30 jets commenced daily precision airstrikes against "ISIL" targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.

On Wednesday, Russia launched a total of 26 cruise missiles from combat ships in the Caspian Sea against "ISIL" targets.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Russia Today in Damascus, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad said that Moscow is fulfilling its "obligations assumed in the UN Security Council, at the General Assembly and in all international forums" by fighting terrorism.

"This is precisely what Russia is doing in Syria, in coordination with the army of Syrian Arab Republic and the Syrian government," he added.

Speaking about Russia's naval and airborne operations against terrorist groups in the Middle Eastern country, Mekdad said that Moscow had openly reported on the number of missiles and the targets that were hit.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team