BEIJING. April 24 (Interfax-AVN) - The war on ISIL (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) is not the primary objective pursued by the United States and its coalition in Syria; instead they seek to secure a military and economic presence in the region, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a conference of the defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Beijing on Tuesday.
"They [the United States and its allies] are using international terrorist and extremist forces for their own means. Let me give you an example of Iraq and Syria. The coalition led by the United States which is made up of over 30 military powers was unable to deal with the militants and ISIL's territory kept expanding over a long period of time," Shoigu said.
"It seems they had a different objective, one of destabilizing the region and enhancing their military and economic presence," Shoigu said.