Russia launched operation in Syria when situation turned intolerant - Kremlin chief of staff

MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. The launch of the Russian operation in Syria was linked with the situation in the Mideastern country and had no purpose of distracting attention from Ukraine, Sergey Ivanov, the chief of Russia’s presidential staff, said in an interview with TASS. "The situation has turned intolerant," Ivanov said, adding that "Russia in this particular case is pursuing no foreign policy ambitions." He dismissed as "plain gossip" the allegations that operation in Syria was aimed to switch attention from the events in Ukraine. "I've already explained why we found it right and appropriate to respond to the request from Syria's legitimate leadership for help in fighting against terrorists of all sorts. What attempts to switch attention are you talking about?" Ivanov said. The full text of the interview is available at http://tass.ru/en Read more