On September 30, the upper house of the Russia’s parliament—the Federation Council—unanimously rubberstamped a Kremlin request to use Russian troops abroad after a 15-minute closed session. President Vladimir Putin’s administration chief, Sergei Ivanov, presented the Kremlin’s request and later told reporters that Russian troops will begin an air operation in Syria to defend Russian national interests against “ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—later renamed the Islamic State] terrorists” and to prevent the return of Russian citizens, who went to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State (IS). Ivanov described Russian military action in Syria as “preventive—to meet …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation