MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian combat jets began on Wednesday airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Syria on request by Bashar Assad government.
"We are protecting Russian people from terrorist threat because it is better to do this abroad than to fight terrorism within the country," Medvedev told Rossiya-24 TV channel in an interview.
Russia, "unfortunately, has a very difficult experience in countering terrorism," he added.
Earlier in the week, Kremlin Administration Aide Sergei Ivanov said that Moscow had to be proactive in fighting terrorism and had "to act in distant frontiers, rather than deal with this problem later in Russia."
Commenting on possible ways to settle the conflict in Syria, Medveded underscored that negotiations between the Syrian government and the country's opposition are necessary.
"The main thing is that everything is resolved through negotiations, that we manage to seat at the same table the [Syrian] opposition and the authorities, and that they work out proposals for the future of Syria," Medvedev told Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Russia has been engaged in international efforts to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria, as well as providing humanitarian aid to the people of the conflict-torn country.
