MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow is not planning perpetual military presence in Syria, while the scale of it will be decided by Russian President Vladimir Putin, not Syrian President Bashar Assad, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
"I reiterate, Russia doesn’t intend to stay in Syria forever," the minister told the Time magazine.
Moscow has been carrying out a very limited and a specific task in the country which is based on Assad’s request since September 30. Therefore, he will not be the one deciding on a scale of the Russian military involvement, but Russian authorities will do so, according to Medvedev.
