Russian President, Vladimir Putin, today filed a request to the upper house of parliament for approval to deploy the Russian army abroad, the Kremlin stated.
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The announcement is an indication that Putin plans to send troops to Syria to back the overstretched forces of President Bashar al-Assad, a Russian ally in a four-year war against rebels and jihadists seeking to end al-Assad’s rule.
A spokesman for Putin revealed this month that the president was considering sending troops to Syria, and the United States government said it was monitoring a Russian military build-up at an airport near the major Syrian port city of Latakia.
Russia said it was sending weapons to al-Assad to help his government fight terrorist groups like the Islamic State, which controls large areas in Syria and Iraq.
Meanwhile, Russia has shrugged off US concerns of its troops in the conflict, saying, “Russian military specialists have been in Syria for many years to help with Russian-made equipment.”
As stated by UN reports, a quarter of a million people had died in the conflict, and more than 22.4 million were internally displaced or fled abroad.
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