Russia denies building new military base in Syria

Russia is not building a new military base in Syria, the Anadolu Agency reported the spokesman of the Russian Defence Ministry Major General Igor Konashenkov saying yesterday.

In a news conference held in Moscow, Konashenkov said: “There is no operational need to deploy a new Russian airbase on Syrian territory.”

“You do not need to be a serious military expert to understand that it takes only a 30-40 minute flight to the furthest Syrian location from the [existing] Khmeimim military airfield hosting the Russian Air Force.”

Moscow said that its military interference in Syria aims to target Daesh, but Washington and other Western and Arab states refute this.