Russian blitzing campaign against ISIS will remain ‘front and centre’ for Putin

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10 years ago

THE RUSSIAN military campaign to obliterate Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Syria will remain a “front and centre” priority for President Vladimir Putin in 2016, according to a former British ambassador.

Russia is battling economic chaos at home after being hammered by Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis, falling oil prices, and a weakening rouble.But while the crippled economy has hit the county and its people hard, former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton has predicted President Putin will still continue to plough money into his military campaign.

Russia has been pounding ISIS jihadis, also known as Daesh, with almost daily air strikes since starting their blitzing campaign at the end of September.Officials in Moscow claim their fight against terror has already seen them wipe out hundreds of terrorists in the war-torn country, as well as battering scores of their bases and weaponry.

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Russia has faced a crippled economy this year

Sir Tony said President Putin would rather “cut back in other ways” than back away from the crisis in Syria, which he feels is necessary to protect “national security”.

The country is hopeful for a more positive financial year in 2016, on the back of forecasts predicting its economy will shrink by around four per cent this year.

The military campaign is front and centre of what Putin thinks is necessary for Russian national security

Sir Tony Brenton

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Sir Tony, who spent four years as an ambassador and met President Putin on several occasions, said: “The big worry hanging over them is the economy, because of the oil price sliding as the way it is.“They will have to carry on making quite painful economic adjustments… and I think they are rather bracing themselves for a rather lean year in those terms.

“Although they’ve had a pretty sharp economic contraction this year, next year is expected to be better.”

When asked if Russia could risk bankruptcy over the air strikes in Syria, he added: “The military campaign is front and centre of what Putin thinks is necessary for Russian national security. They are not going to back away from that.”

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/629209/Russia-air-strikes-Islamic-State-ISIS-front-centre-2016