MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Moscow is hoping to keep its military bases in Syria, the fight against international terrorism in Syria is not over, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Thursday.
"Our bases in Syria remain where they were. No other decision has been made yet. The bases were there at the request of Syrian authorities, the aim was to fight terrorists, ISIL [a terrorist organization banned in Russia]. I am working on a premise that everyone agrees that the fight against terrorism and remnants of ISIL is not over. It requires a collective effort, and in this respect our presence and the base at Khmeimim played an important role in the context of the common fight against international terrorism," Bogdanov told journalists in Moscow when asked if Russia would retain its military bases in Syria after the change of government in the country.