Kremlin: the West wants to take away Russia’s military achievements in Syria
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s Facebook comment that Moscow appropriated victory over the terrorists of the Islamic State.
"The Western partners have been making statements for the last few days that it is not Russia, but they, the coalition, who defeated the ISIL in Syria. The last to do this was the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Le Drian," she wrote.
According to Zakharova, the US-led coalition decided to take away "Russia's military achievements" in the same vein that the US had seized Russia’s US property and taken away its Sochi Olympics medals.
The Russian Defense Ministry also commented on the words of Jean-Yves Le Drian. "The fact that the Islamic State was defeated in Syria today is due primarily to the Syrians leadership and government forces," the ministry statement says.
The Russian Defense Ministry also stated that "in the three years of its existence, the "coalition" only recently achieved its first "result" in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria, destroying Raqqa with the massive bombing along and civilian casualties."
The French Foreign Minister said on BFMTV on December 8 that the terrorists of the Islamic State were forced out precisely by coalition forces, and that Russian servicemen came to the aid of the Syrian army and achieved the release of Deir ez-Zor albeit with delays. He expressed surprise at the fact that Russia "appropriated a victory over the IS."